City of Melbourne will lobby to change the date, but will keep 26 January ceremonies if unsuccessful

Councillors vote to ask government to change the date to ‘celebrate what it means to be Australian’

The City of Melbourne will advocate for the federal government to change the date of Australia Day from 26 January, despite the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, saying there are no plans to shift the national celebration.

At a future Melbourne committee meeting on Tuesday evening, councillors voted to campaign for the Albanese government to change the date – a decision that can only be made at a federal level.

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

Continue reading...

Rescue mission under way for two Australians stranded on damaged yacht in Tasman Sea

The men, in their 70s, were travelling from New Zealand when severe weather caused the vessel to take on water near Lord Howe Island

Marine safety authorities have launched a rescue mission for two Australian men who have been stranded on a yacht in the Tasman Sea for almost 36 hours after severe weather caused the vessel to take on a large amount of water.

The pair, aged in their 70s, were travelling from New Zealand to Australia when they were hit by severe weather including 10m seas and high winds, near Lord Howe Island.

Continue reading...

Australia beat New Zealand by two wickets in first one-day international – as it happened

WHAT A CATCH. Glenn Maxwell pouches a scintillating diving catch at backward point. Think Ben Stokes off Stuart Broad in the 2015 Ashes at Trent Bridge! Guptill slices a length ball on the drive and it flies off his blade to Maxwell’s left hand side. Maxwell launches himself goalkeeper stylee to pluck the ball out of the air as it went past him at high speed. Ooof, get that on the replay.

5th over: New Zealand 10-1 (Conway 1, Williamson 0)

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: RBA interest rates decision due; climate bill to pass Senate with Pocock amendments

Labor’s signature climate change legislation will pass the Senate with some minor changes

Delayed rate pain

While the interest rate increases are hitting those already on variable rates, those who are on fixed rates which are about to expire are going to feel a lot of pain, when their repayments jump to include the cumulative increase all at once.

Continue reading...

Jetstar flights cancelled, leaving 4,000 passengers stranded overseas for up to a week

Travellers in Bali have run out of medication and been offered tortuous routes home

Mass flight cancellations have left 4,000 Jetstar passengers stranded or forced to cancel trips, with the carrier only able to offer flights a week later in many cases.

Many have reported being left in Bali well beyond their planned return date without access to medication, or being forced to lose wages because they could not return home in time to work.

Continue reading...

Fears for platypus populations after flooding in Queensland and NSW

Ecologists urge people to monitor for platypuses in their area after indications of a ‘severe decline’ in Ipswich

There are fears that platypus populations might have been wiped out by recent floods in greater Brisbane, sparking new calls for the species to be nationally recognised as a threatened.

While the platypus is endangered in South Australia and was listed as vulnerable in Victoria last year, the iconic monotreme is not officially considered threatened in Queensland and New South Wales.

Continue reading...

Guardian Essential poll: about half say Scott Morrison should resign over secret ministries

Poll finds 51% of respondents say the former PM should go, including a third of Coalition voters

About half of voters think Scott Morrison should resign from parliament over his decision to secretly appoint himself to five additional portfolios while prime minister, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, which also finds trust in government in steady decline.

As the former prime minister continues to defend his decision to take on the additional portfolios without informing his colleagues or the public, the survey of 1,070 people found that about half (51%) agreed with the statement that he “should resign from parliament”, including a third of Coalition voters.

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

Continue reading...

Government pays Rachelle Miller $650,000 to settle bullying, harassment and discrimination claims

Miller’s claims relate to when she worked for former ministers Alan Tudge and Michaelia Cash, who both reject allegations of adverse treatment, while government has not admitted liability

The federal government has paid former Coalition staffer Rachelle Miller $650,000 in a settlement for hurt, distress and humiliation she alleges she suffered while working for former ministers Alan Tudge and Michaelia Cash.

No admission of liability was made by the government.

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

Continue reading...

Tracy Grimshaw to depart A Current Affair after 17 years as host

Grimshaw says decision is hers alone and she’s ‘not being shoved out the door by the boys club because I’m too old’

After 17 years in a prime time spot and 40 years on television, Tracy Grimshaw will step down from hosting Nine’s A Current Affair in November.

Grimshaw broke the news live on the program, telling viewers it was her decision to quit and to ignore the gossip magazines if they “start telling you rubbish”.

Continue reading...

Move to disallow $18m leadership program grant pitched by David Hurley

Greens senator David Shoebridge says grant impacts ‘independence’ of governor general’s office and Scott Morrison should have rejected requests for support

The Greens and Jacqui Lambie Network have moved to disallow a controversial $18m grant to a leadership foundation for which the governor general, David Hurley, personally lobbied the Morrison government.

Announced in the 2022 budget, the $18m to establish the Australian Future Leaders Program was probed by Labor in opposition due to concerns the foundation was not operational before the grant was announced without a competitive tender.

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

Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese promises resources sector ‘orderly’ reduction in emissions

Labor is under pressure on climate policy from Greens who propose ban on high-carbon projects

Anthony Albanese has promised to work with the resources sector to “reduce emissions in a predictable and orderly way” as Labor comes under increased pressure from the Greens to ban emissions intensive projects.

Albanese made the comment to the minerals industry parliamentary dinner on Monday, suggesting the “cooperation and dialogue” Labor achieved at the two-day jobs and skills summit “should be the rule” not a “48-hour exception”.

Continue reading...

Steve Price’s article claiming ‘minority’ white male status prompts press council complaints

News Corp columnist framed himself as among a minority of white men who could no longer voice their opinion

Australia’s press watchdog has received multiple complaints about a widely condemned News Corp column by Steve Price in which he complained he was among a white “minority”, a claim that flies in the face of evidence on media diversity.

The Herald Sun ran Price’s column over a full page on Saturday, allowing him to bemoan the inclusion of “coloured or Asian people” in television advertising, among other things.

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

Continue reading...

Dutton withdraws Albanese ‘liar’ allegation in question time – as it happened

Anthony Albanese insists stage-three tax cuts worth $243bn will go ahead

There has been a lot of talk around the incoming (July 2024) stage-three tax cuts given they will cost the budget $243bn over 10 years (at this point); overwhelmingly benefit men earning over $180,000; and destroy Australia’s progressive tax system (everyone earning between $40,000 and $200,000 will pay the same tax rate).

You make a choice about what you do, your initiatives and the initiatives we are making are positive ones that will make a difference to people, including our childcare policy.

It’s really important that our payments keep up with inflation. That’s why they’re indexed twice a year, and every little bit helps. This indexation will be particularly big this month, because inflation is particularly challenging.

And we know that it won’t solve every problem for everybody, but it’s important that we try and make sure that those payments keep up. That’s what the indexation is about. It will be welcome even as we acknowledge that times will still be tough for a lot of people.

I’ve been really upfront with people before the election, during the election and after the election. I’ve said to you many times over the last six months or so that it would be too expensive to continue that petrol price relief indefinitely. I think Australians understand that we’ve inherited a budget which is heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt, and that means some difficult decisions including this one.

Continue reading...

Victorian government repeatedly warned of ‘precarious’ situation at triple-zero agency

Government was made aware of Esta’s vulnerable financial position as long ago as 2015

The Victorian government was warned of the “precarious financial position” at the state’s triple-zero call-taking agency about six years before Covid-19 overwhelmed the service and caused delays linked to 33 deaths.

A report by Victoria’s inspector general for emergency management (Igem), Tony Pearce, released on Saturday, identified 40 “potential adverse events” linked to triple-zero delays, lengthy ambulance waits and command decisions at the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (Esta) between December 2020 and May 2022.

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

Continue reading...

Tanya Plibersek urged to save Gouldian finches from NT defence development

Conservationists call on government to reconsider project near Darwin after 100-plus birds were spotted in bushland marked for clearing

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is being urged to intervene to save a population of endangered Gouldian finches threatened by a defence development in the Northern Territory.

The first stage of clearing has begun to allow a defence housing development in savannah woodlands at Lee Point, in Darwin’s north, having been approved in 2019.

Continue reading...

Australian teen strip-searched and held in US jail for 10 days after being denied common visa waiver

Cameron Carter, 19, who had never travelled on a plane before, was left unable to contact his family throughout ordeal

An Australian teenager who travelled to the US for a job interview was strip-searched and held in a federal prison for 10 days, including eight confined to his cell, after he was deemed ineligible for a common holiday travel program.

The 19-year-old, who had never travelled on a plane before, was denied contact with his family in Australia throughout the ordeal. He was supposed to be sent back to Australia after two days, but was held for another eight so he could go before a judge, after an immigration officer said he had resisted returning to Australia.

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

Continue reading...

Consumer watchdog will crack down on petrol price gouging when tax cut ends, Labor says

Federal government also confirms pension and jobseeker will rise 4% in line with consumer price index, as parliament returns

The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has asked the competition watchdog to crack down hard on any price gouging when the petrol excise cut expires at the end of September.

The letter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, released on Monday, confirms the government’s intention to reintroduce “the full excise” on 29 September. It was halved for six months in the March budget.

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

Continue reading...

The ‘egregious’ history of likely new Nauru operator includes allegations of gang rape and murder in its US prisons

A Guardian investigation reveals the firm has been accused of ‘gross negligence’ that allegedly led to gang rape, murder and mistaken solitary confinement in its US facilities

The US private prisons operator likely to take over Australia’s offshore processing regime on Nauru has previously been accused of “gross negligence” and “egregious” security failures that allegedly led to the gang-rape of a woman in detention, the murder of two retirees by escaped prisoners, and the months-long solitary confinement of a US citizen wrongfully held in immigration detention.

The Department of Home Affairs is finalising negotiations with the US-based Management and Training Corporation, which the department has announced as its preferred tenderer to provide “facilities, garrison, transferee arrivals and reception services” for Australia’s offshore regime on Nauru from next month. No contracts have yet been signed.

Continue reading...

Victorian Liberal MP urges UN to investigate youth justice facilities over ‘serious breaches’ of human rights

Matt Bach has written to UN subcommittee about the ‘systematic’ isolation of youth detainees he says contravenes international law

​​Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcast

Victorian Liberal MP Matt Bach has written to the United Nations subcommittee on the prevention of torture, urging them to investigate the “systematic” use of isolation in the state’s youth justice facilities during an upcoming visit.

The subcommittee is set to visit Australia from 16-27 October to inspect places of detention and examine the treatment of detainees.

Continue reading...

The virtual jury’s out as appetite for true crime podcasts grows

The Teacher’s Pet helped solve a 40-year-old murder but the popularity of real crime dramas raises questions and legal concerns

For the makers of The Teacher’s Pet, the result could not be better: an Australian man who murdered his wife 40 years ago was convicted after a detailed reinvestigation of the case by the true crime podcast.

It uncovered flaws in the original police investigation and an unwillingness by prosecutors to charge Chris Dawson with the murder of his wife, Lynette.

Continue reading...