Category Archives: Australia news

University of New England vice-chancellor resigns after assault charge

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Brigid Heywood has stood down but denies wiping saliva on a schoolgirl’s face and commenting on her skin colour

The vice-chancellor at the University of New England has resigned after she was charged with assault over an International Women’s Day event where she allegedly wiped saliva on a schoolgirl’s face while commenting on the colour of her skin.

Brigid Heywood, who has led the university since 2019, has been charged with common assault and behaving in an offensive manner in or near a public place over an incident at a club in Armidale in March.

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Prosecutors seek suppression orders in case against tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle

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Adelaide-based public servant blew the whistle on the use of garnishee notices to claw back debts from taxpayers

Commonwealth prosecutors are seeking suppression orders in the case of former tax office worker Richard Boyle.

Boyle blew the whistle in 2018 on the Australian Taxation Office’s aggressive use of garnishee notices to claw back debts from taxpayers and businesses.

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Weather tracker: regions across world still reeling from an extreme July

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From US floods to drought in France, communities around globe are still feeling effects of July’s extreme weather

Central US states are still reeling from a week of extreme flooding events in the final days of July. Initially, the extreme rainfall into St Louis gave a quarter of the normal annual rainfall in just 12 hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). A few days later, in eastern Kentucky, at least 10-12 inches (about 25-30cm) fell in the space of a few days, causing devastating flooding in the Appalachian region of the state.

The complex, numerous and steep valleys in the region enabled rainwater to quickly run down valley sides and build up on the limited and often built-up floodplains. Deforestation and historic mining activity in the region have also been mentioned as potential contributors. Both flooding events have been classified as one in 1,000-year events by the NWS.

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Penny Wong walks out on Russian speech; nation records 82 Covid deaths – as it happened

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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he will be “taking a break” next week, with his deputy, Richard Marles, to act in the top job in his stead.

Speaking on ABC Melbourne radio, Albanese said he would take a short period of leave and travel somewhere in Australia. He will be on leave from August 6-14.

Taking a break with security issues is more complex, I have found.

Three people remain in custody. We believe one of those persons is responsible for this matter.

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Australia’s Grace Brown and Rohan Dennis complete Commonwealth cycling clean sweep

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  • Pair blow away competition to each take time trial gold
  • Para star Madison de Rozario claims her second gold of Games

As Grace Brown was preparing for the first leg of an Australian clean sweep of the Commonwealth Games individual time trials, the task ahead was brought into harsh focus. English rider Hayley Simmonds, a bronze medallist on the Gold Coast four years ago now working as a commentator while injured, articulated perfectly the demands of the event.

“It’s called the race of truth,” Simmonds said on the BBC. “In the end, it’s just you and the pain in your legs and thoughts in your head. You cannot hide behind your teammates. It is literally the strongest rider who will win.”

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Victoria passes laws raising penalties for environmental protesters at logging sites

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Despite pleas from unions and the Greens, the bill easily passed upper house after Coalition sided with Labor

New laws to crack down on protests at Victorian logging sites have been pushed through state parliament despite an 11th-hour push from unions.

The Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 passed Victoria’s upper house on Thursday evening, with the final vote count 30 to five after Labor and the coalition joined forces.

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Community leaders call on new western Sydney minister to invest in local people, talent and diversity

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Stuart Ayres’ replacement, David Elliott, urged to broaden scope of his portfolio beyond ‘roads and sports’

Western Sydney community leaders are calling on the new state minister for western Sydney, David Elliott, to broaden the scope of his portfolio beyond “roads and sports”.

Elliott, who also holds the transport and veterans affairs portfolios, will be sworn into his new role on Friday, after his predecessor, Stuart Ayres, stepped down on Tuesday.

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Passenger kept from boarding after Jetstar’s refusal to assist with wheelchair makes discrimination complaint

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Exclusive: Complaint lodged with human rights commission after man turned away at gate of Sydney airport flight

A passenger with a disability has lodged a discrimination complaint after he was turned away at the gate when trying to board a Jetstar flight in Sydney.

Tony Jones, who suffered a spinal cord injury after falling off a balcony at the age of 18 and has since relied on a wheelchair, said he had contacted the airline to organise assistance in advance of his flight to Ballina in May last year.

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Queensland real estate body tells landlords how to skirt new no-grounds eviction laws

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Renters express shock as property managers told to provide tenants with notice to leave at same time as new leases

Queensland’s peak real estate body has recommended property managers issue every tenant with a notice to leave at the same time as they are offered a new lease, as a way of circumventing the state’s new no-grounds eviction laws.

Renters who spoke to Guardian Australia criticised the recommendation, which they said has left them shocked and worried about their future.

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‘Magnificent’ jellyfish found off coast of Papua New Guinea sparks interest among researchers

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Veteran diver struck by ‘intricate detail’ sent footage to be uploaded to Jellyfish app

A diver has captured footage of an unusual-looking jellyfish off the coast of Papua New Guinea, sparking interest among researchers.

The video was captured by Dorian Borcherds, who owns Scuba Ventures in Kavieng, in the New Ireland province of PNG.

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Australia politics live: leaders trade question time barbs over climate and power prices; CMO ‘confident’ Covid wave has peaked as 85 deaths recorded

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The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.

It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.

The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.

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Australia secures 450,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine

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Jab will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay and bisexual men – especially those who travel

The Australian government has bought 450,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, including 22,000 that will arrive this week and next.

The third-generation Bavarian-Nordic vaccine will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, especially those travelling to countries with a significant outbreak.

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Commonwealth Bank and ANZ raise variable home loan interest rates by half a point to match RBA rise

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Increase puts the banks’ variable interest rates at highest in three years with Westpac and NAB yet to respond to official cash rate hike

The Commonwealth Bank and ANZ have matched this week’s move by the central bank and raised their variable home loan rates.

CBA’s rates for owner-occupier and investor mortgages will rise by half a percentage point on 12 August.

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Julian Assange’s family urge Australian PM Anthony Albanese to intervene before US extradition

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John and Gabriel Shipton say they’re frustrated at Australian PM for lack of progress in WikiLeaks founder’s case since Labor was elected

Julian Assange’s family have said the Albanese government needs to intervene in the case before he is extradited to the US, saying it would effectively be a “death sentence” for the WikiLeaks founder if there was no intervention.

The plight of Assange, who is being held in UK’s Belmarsh prison pending an appeal against his extradition to the US, has been raised with the new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, by Assange’s Australian solicitor, Stephen Kenny.

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Johnny Famechon, Australian boxing world champion, dies aged 77

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  • Famechon won the featherweight title against Jose Legra in 1969
  • Retired at 24 after twice defeating Fighting Harada of Japan

Australia’s former featherweight world champion Johnny Famechon has died in Melbourne at the age of 77.

The boxer’s most memorable victory was his world title win against the Cuban Jose Legra at London’s Albert Hall in 1969.

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North Queensland shooting: police respond to reports of four people shot near Collinsville

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Emergency declared following reports of multiple people shot at rural property near the town, which lies southwest of Bowen and near Bogie

Queensland police are are on the scene of a rural property near Collinsville in the state’s north after reports multiple people have been shot.

An emergency has been declared under the Public Safety Preservation Act, allowing police to create an exclusion zone from which they can evacuate people.

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Labor’s climate bill set to pass with support from Greens and Bridget Archer

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Adam Bandt says Greens will back legislation but signals further fight on new fossil fuel projects, while the Liberal MP says she’ll cross the floor

The House of Representatives is moving towards passage of Labor’s bill enshrining emissions reductions targets for 2030 and 2050 after the Greens signalled they would support the legislation and Liberal MP Bridget Archer confirmed she would cross the floor.

After weeks of negotiations, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, confirmed on Wednesday his party would back the Albanese government’s legislation in both chambers, and king-making Senate independent, David Pocock, confirmed his priority was “getting a target locked in and legislated”.

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Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan: calls for calm in Asia as US-China tensions rise

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South Korea calls for dialogue and Japan conveys concerns over drills, while North Korea praises China

The historic visit to Taiwan of the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has provoked a furious response from China, and heightened fears of a crisis in the Taiwan strait. In Asia and beyond, the visit has put governments on edge.

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Liberal MP Bridget Archer to cross the floor on climate bill – as it happened

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Defence review to be announced

The government is announcing a defence force review today, which it wants completed in about six months. Is this in response to China?

It’s because we need an ADF that is well-positioned to meet our security challenges over the next decade and beyond.

And we have inherited, as you all know, some real capability issues, some of which have been well publicised in the media. It is important that we look at how we ensure the Australian defence force can meet our security challenges, not just now, but in the years ahead. So, you know, I welcomed this and the prime minister and the defence minister will be having – we’ll have more details about this later today.

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London trade rep said he would ‘go to’ Dominic Perrottet over contract negotiations, NSW inquiry hears

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Inquiry also hears Amy Brown reveal Stuart Ayres’ praise for John Barilaro before New York appointment

The New South Wales government’s senior trade commissioner in London was recruited after being “added to the process late” and believed he had an “elevated status” that saw him threaten to “go to” the premier, Dominic Perrottet, during contract negotiations, an inquiry has heard.

In a day of explosive evidence to the inquiry investigating John Barilaro’s controversial appointment to a New York trade commissioner job, the chief executive of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, also revealed newly resigned deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, told her the former deputy premier’s appointment was “good to go” after a meeting of senior ministers.

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