Category Archives: Australia news

RBA ‘will not hesitate’ to raise interest rates again to combat inflation, Michele Bullock warns

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Reserve Bank governor says there is ‘considerable uncertainty’ over Australia’s economic future and the board ‘remains vigilant’

Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said the central bank won’t hesitate to lift interest rates again to reduce “persistently high inflation” while acknowledging “I know this is not what people want to hear”.

In a speech on Thursday in the northern New South Wales town of Armidale, Bullock also talked up the need for more investment in renewable energy zones, noting these would account for half of electricity generation in coming decades.

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NSW waste industry faces crackdown on recycled soil after asbestos found in more than half facilities tested

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Exclusive: Watchdog says it ordered disposal of more than 600 tonnes of soil fill, fined three facilities and is considering ‘significant changes’ to rules following Guardian investigation

The New South Wales environment watchdog has vowed to crack down on the waste industry after new tests found asbestos at seven of 13 facilities producing or handling cheap landscaping products.

A 15-month Guardian Australia investigation revealed earlier this year that the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had failed to act after compliance campaigns in 2013 and 2019 found potentially contaminated products had been distributed across the state – including at childcare centres, schools, residential areas and parks – thanks to widespread breaches by the industry.

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Labor pushing for new powers to ‘clean up’ alleged criminal activity in CFMEU

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In further toughening of stance, government considers calls for joint federal and state police taskforce to investigate unions

The Albanese government will next week push for new powers to appoint an administrator of the construction union, due to a delay in the Fair Work case brought after accusations of criminal misconduct and bikie links.

In a further toughening of Labor’s stance, the workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, signalled the government was considering calls for a joint federal and state police taskforce to investigate alleged criminal conduct in unions.

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Failure to learn from ‘African gangs’ furore puts community at risk, Victoria’s children’s commissioner says

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Amid claims of a growing crime wave, Liana Buchanan says the government must work harder to identify the causes of offending

The Victorian commissioner for children and young people says African-Australian youth are again the subject of “intense” media and police focus as the state responds to perceptions of a crime wave without working harder to identify the causes of offending.

Liana Buchanan, the principal commissioner of Victoria’s Commission for Children and Young People, said she was concerned that it did not appear any lessons had been learned from the “African gangs” furore, and implored the state government, police and the youth justice system not to respond in ways that would make the community less safe.

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Early childhood education workers to receive 15% pay rise – if centres limit fee increases

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Labor hopes forcing childcare centres to limit fee hikes to secure funding for wage rises will save parents from further price shocks

Early childhood education workers will receive a 15% pay increase funded by the government – but only if centres agree to limit fee increases.

The wage boost, first reported by Guardian Australia in April, fulfils a commitment from the Albanese government to better address the wage inequity for workers in the crucial sector.

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Investors push Glencore to scrap spin-off of heavily polluting coal division

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More than 95% of investors urged commodities firm to keep highly profitable fossil fuel arm to help maximise shareholder cash

Glencore has scrapped plans to spin off its coal business after shareholders urged the commodities company to hold on to the highly profitable but heavily polluting division.

The FTSE 100 company said that an overwhelming majority of its shareholders favoured retaining the coal business over its plan to list the division as a separate company on the New York stock exchange.

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Australia news live: Linda Reynolds tells defamation trial she felt like a ‘punching clown on the fairground’ after social media posts by Higgins and Sharaz

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Follow the day’s news live

Wong endorses call from Blinken for de-escalation in Middle East

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said she endorsed Antony Blinken’s call for de-escalation in the Middle East.

We continue to add our voice to the support for the ceasefire outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the security council.

Thank you for an incredibly productive day.

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Alleged bandit charged after stealing $600,000 worth of Bluey limited edition ‘dollarbucks’ in Sydney

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NSW police allege 63,000 coins featuring popular tv show character were stolen from a Sydney warehouse

An alleged Bluey coin bandit has been charged by New South Wales police for allegedly stealing over $600,000 worth of limited edition currency.

The Royal Australian Mint’s “dollarbucks” coin collection featured Bluey, alongside other characters on the popular tv show, as part of a special limited release.

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Wieambilla shootout ‘most dangerous operation’ Queensland specialist police have ever undertaken, inquest hears

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Train family had ‘intense motivation to kill police’ and were highly prepared for shooting ambush, state coroner told

The final shootout between police and three radicalised murderers at a remote property near Wieambilla was the most dangerous operation ever undertaken by Queensland’s specialist tactical police, an inquest into the deadly ambush has heard.

Supt Tim Partridge, who now runs the Special Emergency Response Team (Sert), said the task would have been less risky if police had access to superior tactics such as the use of a sniper from a helicopter, and more reliable communications.

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Melbourne learner driver fined $600 after unintentionally driving off as sister clung to door in fatal accident

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Asyai Luk fined without conviction after judge found she was unaware her sibling was at car door before she accelerated forward

A woman has walked free from court with a $600 fine after unintentionally driving off while her sister held on to a car door following an argument in a Melbourne street.

Her sister later died in hospital.

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Linda Reynolds says she never agreed to keep letters she leaked to columnist from The Australian newspaper secret

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Senator tells defamation trial she considered a letter from Commonwealth lawyers relating to Brittany Higgins’ settlement an attempt to ‘lock her down’

Linda Reynolds says she never agreed to keeping confidential documents relating to Brittany Higgins’ personal injury settlement private and had “no particular concern” about leaking the letters to a columnist at the Australian.

The Western Australian Liberal senator is suing Higgins over a series of social media posts, published in July 2023, which she claims have damaged her reputation.

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‘Best slow TV ever’: scientists mount cameras on endangered sea lions to map Australia’s ocean floor

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Eight females from two seal colonies have filmed almost 90 hours across more than 500km, helping scientists map 5,000 sq km of habitat

The Australian sea lions glide and dart through underwater tunnels, over seagrass beds and rocky reefs, searching for a meal and dancing with dolphins around a giant bait ball of fish – all the action captured by a camera stuck on their back.

“I can watch this stuff for hours,” says Prof Simon Goldsworthy. “It’s like the best slow TV ever. You just don’t know what you’re going to see next.”

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US plans more frequent bomber deployments to Australia amid China’s ‘escalatory behaviour’

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Australia-US talks also turn to Middle East conflict as representatives ramp up calls for Gaza ceasefire

The US says it plans “more frequent” deployments of bomber aircraft to Australia amid concerns over China’s “dangerous and escalatory behaviour” in the region.

The announcement after annual talks on Wednesday builds on a long-term trend of increased rotations of American forces to Australia, along with moves to upgrade Australian military bases and pre-position US army equipment in Australia.

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Centrepay report that found major failings ‘ignored’ by successive Coalition governments, author says

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Advocate Anna Buduls AO says her 2013 report, which found major failings with the controversial Centrepay debt recovery system, was mostly forgotten about

A government-appointed reviewer who warned the government of serious problems with its Centrepay debt recovery system 11 years ago says her report was “mostly buried” and ignored and has expressed “huge sadness” that people continued to suffer.

Anna Buduls was tasked by the Gillard government in 2012 to review the controversial system. She recommended a significant overhaul of the system to stop the “exploitation of financially vulnerable people by some unscrupulous operators”.

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Labor’s attempts to tie gambling harm advocates into ‘ridiculous’ secret agreements rejected

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The government has invited anti-gambling groups to a briefing on proposed reforms to the sector on Friday – but there’s a special condition if they want to attend

A leading anti-gambling advocate has refused to sign a contentious non-disclosure agreement in order to attend a briefing with the government about gambling advertising reforms.

After the government was roundly criticised for consulting with betting companies ahead of gambling harm advocates about the reforms, the Alliance for Gambling Reform was among several organisations that on Monday evening received an invitation to a government briefing.

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‘Hobbit’ bones from tiny species of ancient humans found on Indonesian island

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Flores arm bone suggests Homo floresiensis was forced to undergo a dramatic reduction in body size

The remains of a member of the smallest ancient human species on record, who stood at just 1m tall, have been discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores.

The fossil arm bone belonged to a tiny adult human who roamed the island 700,000 years ago alongside pygmy elephants, Komodo dragons and giant rats the size of rabbits. It is thought to be from a very early individual of the “hobbit” species Homo floresiensis that has perplexed scientists since its discovery two decades ago.

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Pig-nosed turtle among over a dozen new species added to Australia’s list of endangered species

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The number of species recognised as threatened with extinction in Australia now stands at 2,224

Another 13 animals and plants have been added to Australia’s list of threatened species, sparking renewed calls for the federal government to quickly overhaul the country’s nature laws.

The species newly listed as at risk include the pig-nosed turtle (listed as vulnerable), the Dalhousie catfish (critically endangered), Pugh’s sphagnum frog (endangered) and the Coffs Harbour Fontainea, a rainforest tree (critically endangered). Other species are freshwater fish, lizards, flowering shrubs, a daisy and an orchid species.

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Weather and a changing world — not large corporations — behind downturn in Australia’s live music scene, inquiry hears

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Outgoing CEO of promoters’ body says inquiry has produced no evidence that companies have engaged in anticompetitive behaviour

Many of Australia’s live music business models are “broken and unsustainable”, a parliamentary inquiry into the crisis-hit sector heard on Tuesday.

But overseas-based companies such as Live Nation and TEG, the large tour promotion multinationals that have come under criticism during the inquiry, are not the problem, the industry’s peak body said.

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Anyone hoping for lower interest rates any time soon will be dismayed by RBA chief’s media conference

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Governor Michele Bullock makes clear any expectation of interest rate cuts this year ‘not aligned’ with bank’s present thinking

Those hoping for lower interest rates soon – whether stressed borrowers or those in the Albanese government itching for an early election – would have been dismayed by the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock’s media conference on Tuesday.

The RBA board had just wrapped up the eighth meeting under her leadership and considered just two options for its key interest rate: “hold for some time” or another rate hike. A rate cut was not up for discussion.

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Beyond ‘stretch of imagination’ Brittany Higgins fundraising page part of conspiracy to damage Linda Reynolds, court told

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Communications between Higgins and sexual assault survivor advocate subpoenaed during defamation trial as Reynolds’ lawyer accuses former staffer of trying to ‘capture public opinion’

Any communications between Brittany Higgins and sexual assault survivor advocate, Saxon Mullins, over a newly created page to fundraise for Higgins’ legal costs will be handed over to Linda Reynolds’ legal team, a court has heard.

The Western Australian Liberal senator is suing Higgins for a series of social media posts published in July 2023, which she says damaged her reputation.

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