Shipwreck of Captain Cook’s Endeavour being eaten by ‘termites of the ocean’, expert says

Shipworms and crustaceans called gribbles have infiltrated the wood of the vessel off Rhode Island

There are fears the wreck of Captain James Cook’s Endeavour is being destroyed by shipworms, the “termites of the ocean”.

In February the Australian Maritime Museum announced that the shipwreck, in waters off the coast of Rhode Island in the US, was “the final resting place” of that famous historical ship.

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Man charged with firearms offences after Canberra airport shooting

Police say a NSW man, 63, will face court following Sunday shooting that led to evacuation of airport

A man has been charged with firearms offences after a shooting that prompted the evacuation of Canberra airport on Sunday.

A man was arrested at the airport after allegedly firing about five shots inside, some leaving bullet holes in terminal windows, at 1.30pm on Sunday.

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Labor vows to prioritise Australian jobs as it eyes migration boost

Annual intake could potentially rise from 160,000 to up to 200,000 places as businesses cry out for skilled workers

The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has vowed Labor “will always prioritise jobs for Australians” as the government eyes increasing the migration cap potentially to 200,000 places per year.

A boost from the current annual migration intake of 160,000 will be on the table at the federal government’s jobs and skills summit next month.

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Daniel Andrews backs federal plan to boost migration – as it happened

Labor’s plan to tackle skills shortages would lift the annual migration cap from 160,000 to between 180,000 and 200,000. This blog is now closed

Bowen says climate reforms will help Australian industry avoid carbon tariffs

Bowen says how this will work has yet to be determined and gives a nod to an upcoming discussion paper, with the details to be hammered out in consultation with industry. But he raises some interesting points that this needs to happen as there is a growing risk Australian industry will be exposed to carbon tariffs if nothing changes.

This will help us avoid these, by showing the EU and the rest of the world, you don’t need to slap tariffs on our manufacturers and our producers because Australia is working with industry to get emissions down in a very sensible way.

The safeguard mechanism is taking the 315 biggest emissions and working with them to reduce emissions, because if we don’t, we will continue the 10 years of no reductions from those facilities and it won’t cut the mustard.

Any facility which emits more than 100,000 tonnes … whether it is new or existing, which is just increasing its activity, we are not having the same architecture. They will be put on a trajectory to net zero, facility by facility. We have designed this in a very sensible way.

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Two women shot dead in Sydney’s south-west killed in targeted ‘assassination’, police say

The women – aged 48 and 39 – died after the offender opened fire on them as they sat in a car in Revesby on Saturday night

New South Wales police say the shooting that killed two women on a Sydney street was a planned and methodical “assassination”.

Two women – aged 48 and 39 – died after the offender opened fire on them as they sat in a car in Revesby. Two people in the back seat – a girl aged 16 and man aged 20 – were not seriously injured.

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At least 89 Covid deaths; Littleproud tells Nationals he’ll bring pragmatic policies to jobs summit – as it happened

Nationals leader outlines vision for party at federal council meeting. This blog is now closed

White whale calf seen off NSW coast

There’s one newborn hogging all the attention off the NSW coast – a southern right whale calf born whiter than usual, AAP reports:

Southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.

Its white areas will darken to grey as it ages. It’s one of around one-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle colouring.

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Nationals leader says party must rebuild trust with women but rejects quotas

David Littleproud says regional Australians should be considered at Labor’s jobs summit as he outlines vision to party faithful

The leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, has said his party will make rebuilding trust with women a top priority, but rejected quotas for his party.

“I don’t believe in quotas,” he said.

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Judith Neilson Institute dismisses remaining members of advisory board after earlier director walkout

Staff and media beneficiaries perplexed by ‘totally unnecessary disruption’ as institute pivots to promote ‘social change journalism’

The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas (JNI) has dismissed the remaining members of its international advisory council ahead of a review of the not-for-profit which has now been stripped of its founding board, expert journalism panel and management.

The billionaire philanthropist funded the institute to the tune of $100m in 2018, but blindsided the organisation earlier this year by announcing she wanted to take it in a different direction.

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Property donated by family of John Clarke embroiled in Victorian First Nations dispute

Boonwurrung elder fights plans to transfer land from the satirist’s estate to the Bunurong Land Council

A property donated by the family of renowned satirist and comedian John Clarke has become embroiled in a long-running dispute between two First Nations groups in Victoria.

The land on Phillip Island, about 120km south-east of Melbourne, was donated by Clarke’s widow, Helen McDonald, to conservation group Trust for Nature after his death in 2017.

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OK boomer: the generational change that could shake up Victorian politics

Analysis: with Millennials and Gen Z outnumbering baby boomers, attention turns to the ‘youth vote’

Much has been made about voters shifting away from the major parties and towards independents and Greens candidates.

But a lot of the analysis from this year’s federal election didn’t consider one important aspect: it was the first in which baby boomers were outnumbered by Millennial and Gen Z voters.

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How to photograph a meteor shower: where to take a photo of the Perseids meteors in Australia

Getting a good shot is tricky so here are some tips to capture a picture of the Perseid meteor shower at its peak in August

After three meteor showers lit up the sky across eastern Australia in July, the Perseid meteor shower will peak 13 August, giving stargazers another opportunity to photograph the fireballs as they blaze across the sky.

But capturing a meteorite shower is not as easy as just taking out your iPhone and pressing the button.

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Perseid meteor shower 2022: how and where to watch in Australia

The annual Perseids meteor shower will peak on 13 August. Find out the best time to view

After the night sky in Australia was illuminated by a trio of meteor showers – the Piscis Austrinids, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids late last month, stargazers will be able to see the 2022 Perseid meteor shower peak on 13 August.

The Perseids are considered by Nasa to be “the best meteor shower of the year”. This year, however, they coincide with a full moon on 12 August, resulting in less than ideal viewing conditions. Due to the brightness of the Perseids, though, some meteors should still be visible in a sky illuminated by moonlight.

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Selling Covid antivirals over the counter a ‘recipe for disaster’ – as it happened

The Pharmacy Guild has pushed for the drugs to be made available without a prescription at community pharmacies due to national GP shortages. This blog is now closed

Peter Dutton pressed on voice to parliament

Opposition leader Peter Dutton appeared on ABC’s 7.30 last night and it is worth revisiting for the exchange with host Sarah Ferguson about whether he will commit his party to supporting the voice to parliament.

SARAH FERGUSON: Let me move back into the domestic realm. At the start of parliament, you participated in the smoking ceremony, you allowed your face to be painted and then in your speech you quoted Noel Pearson and seemed to endorse Pearson’s call for constitutional recognition. What would prevent you now from taking the next step and backing the referendum on the voice?

PETER DUTTON: Well, I quoted Noel Pearson for whom I have a great deal of respect, and you can go back and look at the quote and there are many elements to that because there were several paragraphs that I quoted him on.

If we could get that to 60 per cent, then already you would go a long way to addressing part of the supply shortage of teachers.

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NSW Labor MP Walt Secord apologises amid bullying allegations

MP says he can be ‘too blunt and too direct’, after release of landmark review into workplace culture

A senior New South Wales Labor frontbencher has unreservedly apologised amid allegations he bullied staff in the office of former Labor leader Jodi McKay.

After a landmark review into the workplace culture in the state’s parliament was released on Friday, Labor’s shadow police minister Walt Secord released a statement saying he was aware of his “shortcomings” and committing to “addressing my behaviour”.

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Australian education ministers agree to draft national plan to combat teacher shortages

Proposed plan will tackle workload, pay structures and attracting and retaining teachers, but does not address increased school funding

Education ministers have agreed to a national plan to consider better pathways into teaching, new pay structures and a decreased workload as means to combat the teacher shortage.

After a meeting in Canberra on Friday, state and territory ministers said the new federal education minister, Jason Clare, offered a “breath of fresh air”, but the commonwealth remained tight-lipped about increasing schools funding.

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‘Harrowing’ incidents of self-harm revealed among boys held at Perth adult prison

Advocates call for immediate action following incidents including suicide attempts among incarcerated juveniles

There have been three suicide attempts by children transferred to an adult prison in Western Australia since mid-July, and 13 incidents of “minor self-harm”, prompting advocates to call for their immediate transfer and wider reform of the juvenile justice system.

Last month the WA government transferred 17 young people, some as young as 14, from Perth’s Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre to an adult jail at Casuarina after “escalating” disruptions from young people. The juveniles are being detained in a separate area from the adult prisoner population.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Police visited Ayr home hours before fire that resulted in woman’s death

Queensland crime and corruption commission to investigate officer interactions with victim and her partner before house fire

A homicide investigation is under way into the death of a north Queensland woman who spoke with police officers hours before her home erupted into flames.

The 47-year-old Ayr woman died in hospital from severe burns after her house was gutted by a fire that police said was “probably deliberately lit” early on Tuesday morning.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Union launches court case seeking up to $250m from McDonald’s Australia for alleged unpaid wages

Fast-food giant denied staff their rest break entitlements, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association alleges

The union representing more than 250,000 former and current McDonald’s workers has slapped the fast-food giant with a major federal court action, seeking compensation of up to $250m for alleged unpaid wages.

The move is the 16th federal court action lodged against McDonald’s by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).

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Australian academic pleads not guilty in trial with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, official says

Sean Turnell was arrested and charged with violating the official secrets act five days after Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was ousted in 2021

An Australian academic who is being tried with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the country’s official secrets law testified in court for the first time on Thursday, a legal official has said.

Sean Turnell, an economist at Sydney’s Macquarie University, had served as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested when her elected government was ousted by the army on 1 February 2021.

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NSW becomes second state to ban Nazi flag and symbols

Intentionally bearing swastikas can now land a person in jail for up to a year and a fine of over $100,000

Intentionally waving a Nazi flag in New South Wales or displaying memorabilia bearing swastikas could now land a person in jail for up to a year, along with a fine of over $100,000.

The Crimes Amendment (prohibition on display of Nazi symbols) Bill 2022 swiftly and unanimously passed the NSW upper house on Thursday.

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