Category Archives: Australia news

China increases warship capability with production of guided-missile destroyers, experts say

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Prof John Blaxland says China’s navy expansion is ‘in stark contrast’ to trajectories of other countries including Australia

China is “exponentially” increasing its warship capability and has reportedly re-started mass production of guided-missile destroyers.

The Chinese Communist party-controlled newspaper, the Global Times, reported on Tuesday that China would complete its military expansion and modernisation by 2035, “including the development of a blue-water navy, to match the country’s international status and better defend its interests”.

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News live: government pushing through ‘hopeless’ visa backlog, PM says; Reserve bank warns Australia must confront climate risks

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Anthony Albanese said visa delays were due to previous gutting of the public service, but said the government has reallocated staff from other areas into visa processing. Follow the day’s news live

Snow in the Blue Mountains

Residents in NSW are seeing snow as an icy blast sweeps through the south-east of the country.

We are genuinely overwhelmed by the incredible wave of support, love and messages we have received from so many people around Australia. This means so much to us as a family. Thank you to everyone for this. John will be blown away.

John will remain in hospital for a period of time for recovery and post operative treatment.

John has been through an eleven-and-a-half hour surgery in Melbourne yesterday and is now in a stable condition in ICU. The cancerous tumour was located in his mouth and it has been successfully removed. There is still a long road of recovery and healing ahead of us, but we know John is up for that task.

We are in awe of the incredible teams of healthcare professionals who have guided us through this very challenging time with such compassion. All of you undertook this big job and have given us a magnificent outcome. To all the surgeons, doctors, nurses and consultants – thank you one and all so very much.

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Snow blankets Blue Mountains as cold weather moves across NSW

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Icy conditions brought thunderstorms, rain and snow in higher parts of the NSW tablelands and northeast

Residents in the Blue Mountains woke to a blanket of snow on Wednesday morning as a cold front moved through New South Wales.

The icy conditions brought thunderstorms, rain and snow in higher parts of the NSW tablelands and northeast on Tuesday, while a “cold blast” swept the rest of the state.

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Essendon turmoil continues with departure of CEO Xavier Campbell

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  • Third senior change after recent exits of coach and president
  • Club COO Nick Ryan to assume role on interim basis

Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell has resigned after nearly nine years in the position as a tumultuous period continues at the AFL club. The latest change in the Bombers’ senior management structure comes just days after coach Ben Rutten was sacked, with club president Paul Brasher also having exited the club this month.

Campbell announced his resignation at a meeting with the staff and players on Wednesday morning, ending a 13-year association with the Bombers, having arrived in 2009 before being appointed to the role of CEO in 2014. His departure comes less than three days after he told media he was confident he had the support of the board and new president David Barham.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report

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John Farnham recovering in ICU after mouth cancer removed in surgery, singer’s family reveals

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Veteran Australian hitmaker is in a stable condition in hospital after surgery for almost 12 hours as doctors worked to successfully remove a cancer tumour from his mouth

The veteran Australian singer John Farnham is recovering in hospital after undergoing almost 12 hours of surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his mouth.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Farham’s wife, Jill, and sons Rob and James said the singer was in a stable condition.

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Speaker rejects Greens push to refer Scott Morrison to privileges committee

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Milton Dick found there was not enough evidence to suggest former PM deliberately misled parliament

A push by the Greens to refer Scott Morrison to parliament’s powerful privileges committee has been rejected by the Speaker, Milton Dick, who has found there was not enough evidence to say the former prime minister deliberately misled the lower house.

In a letter sent to the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, on Tuesday, Dick is understood to have advised the party that while Morrison’s decision to have himself appointed to five additional portfolios was “extremely serious”, there was not enough prima facie evidence to suggest he had deliberately misled parliament.

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Fight over CFMEU’s ability to preselect candidates threatens to split NSW Labor left

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Attempt to stop union from voting has prompted the soft left to threaten to divide the faction

An ugly preselection brawl within the New South Wales Labor left has threatened to split the faction ahead of the next state election, amid accusations of “rorts”, legal threats and ongoing criminal charges over allegations of union officials accepting bribes.

At the centre of the intra-factional fight is a bid by the hard left to block the powerful CFMEU and its allies from installing the prominent barrister Cameron Murphy into a winnable spot on the party’s upper house ticket ahead of the March election.

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Former PM says he did not misuse secret ministerial powers – as it happened

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If Morrison saga was playing out in the corporate world, he would have been stood down from job, Christine Holgate says

Former Australia Post boss, Christine Holgate continues to weigh in on revelations former prime minister Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to the finance portfolio, overseeing her independent review without her knowledge.

I feel extremely disappointed … To to be told and go through that experience inparliament and then to be told that there will be an independent investigation into you, and then a full Senate inquiry. At no point did I ever know ... the arms-length independent review was actually overseen by Mr Morrison as the finance minister. That doesn’t sound very independent to me.

If this had happened in a corporate world, you know, that person would have been stood down for their job. There would be an enormous set of consequences. But unfortunately, this is allowed to take place in parliament, it feels. I think it’s almost incredible. And actually quite disturbing.

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Labor defence minister ends Peter Dutton’s ‘war on wokeness’ within department

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Leadership now says celebratory events ‘contribute to our inclusive culture’ by acknowledging diverse workforce

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has torn up a Coalition-era ban on departmental staff holding morning teas that celebrate diversity, with military top brass saying they want to foster an “inclusive workforce”.

The defence department secretary, Greg Moriarty, and the chief of defence, Gen Angus Campbell, have backed staff to celebrate events including LGBTQ+ Wear It Purple day and R U OK day after former minister Peter Dutton accused the military of pursuing a “woke agenda”.

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Indigenous group says Tanya Plibersek ‘hasn’t done her homework’ on Burrup peninsula fertiliser plant

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Save Our Songlines accuses environment minister of ‘false conclusions’ and ‘faulty reasoning’ about support for development and says it risks ‘another Juukan Gorge’

Traditional custodians opposed to a contentious $4.5bn fertiliser plant on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula have accused Tanya Plibersek of “faulty reasoning” and drawing “false conclusions” about the views of local Aboriginal communities after she decided not to pause the development.

The environment minister decided work on the plant could go ahead after visiting the peninsula, in the state’s north, earlier this month. She said her decision was based on support for the development from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which she described as the “legally constituted and democratically elected group that safeguards First Nations culture in the Burrup area”.

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Radioactive rock at Randwick Girls High ‘no cause for alarm’, NSW inquiry told

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Education minister Sarah Mitchell tells budget estimates that ‘no harm was posed’ by the 17 August find at Sydney school

A radioactive rock that was found at a Sydney high school did not pose a danger to students or staff, the New South Wales education minister, Sarah Mitchell, has told a budget estimates hearing.

Mitchell was questioned on Tuesday about the radioactive substance that was found at Randwick Girls High in Sydney’s east on 17 August.

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‘Too much to lose’ in Santos gas project off Tiwi Islands, marine ranger tells court

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Federal court hearing on the islands, north of Darwin, told a spill would mean ‘everything ends up dead’ in delicate marine ecosystem

A large gas project off the Tiwi Islands could threaten a vulnerable turtle species and disrupt a thriving ecosystem of fish, a marine ranger has told the federal court.

Tiwi Islander Dennis Tipakalippa is challenging the decision to allow Santos to drill eight wells in the Barossa gas field, 265km north-west of Darwin.

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North Queensland man charged with torture and murder of five-year-old boy

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Police arrested 24-year-old man following tip-off about the boy’s transfer to Townsville hospital from an Indigenous community

A man has been charged with torturing and murdering a five-year-old boy he knew in an Indigenous community in far north Queensland.

The child died from his injuries in Townsville hospital on Monday after doctors had tried to save him for five days.

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Australia’s rabbit invasion traced back to single importation of 24 animals in 1859, study finds

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Population then exploded in what researches say was ‘the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded’

The Australia-wide rabbit invasion resulted from a single introduction of just 24 animals in 1859, new research has confirmed.

Using historical and genetic data, scientists have pinpointed the origins of what they call “the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded”.

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Anti-aircraft noise campaigners to target shareholders in bid for Brisbane airport curfew

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Independent review recommends moving flight paths to alleviate noise concerns but disgruntled residents want solutions sooner

Anti-aircraft noise campaigners say they will target investors in Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) as they threaten to ramp up efforts to force a curfew and cap on flights over the city.

Aircraft noise was the defining local issue at the federal election for many who live under flight paths that emerged when the Brisbane airport opened its second runway in mid-2020, playing a role in the election of Greens MPs in three inner-city seats.

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Tanya Plibersek backs contentious fertiliser plant on Burrup peninsula

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Federal environment minister says Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation supports development despite concerns over impact on culturally important sites

The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has ruled a controversial $4.5bn fertiliser plant near ancient rock art on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula can go ahead after being told it had the support of a local Aboriginal corporation.

Work on the development had stopped after Save Our Songlines, a separate traditional owners organisation opposed to the project, asked the minister to protect five culturally important sites, including petroglyphs. Three of the five are due to be moved during construction.

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‘Free riders’: NSW unions want to charge non-members for pay rises they broker

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Exclusive: Peak body also wants employers to pay skilled visa applicants 30% above median wage to encourage local training instead

Non-union workers would be forced to pay fees for union pay deals while the requirement to advertise jobs domestically, before sponsoring foreign workers, would be abolished in favour of a higher wage floor, under two proposals by Unions NSW.

Under the plan employers could be forced to pay a skilled visa applicant 30% above the industry median wage before sponsoring an offshore worker, a move designed to incentivise training Australians.

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Cost of abortions causing Queensland women to consider self-harm, study reveals

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More than 40% of women seeking help from pregnancy counselling service had exposure to family or intimate partner violence

Queensland women are self-harming and searching for pills on the black market to induce abortions as they face chronic delays, financial pressures and a lack of support from healthcare providers, a new study has found.

The University of Queensland study published in the CSIRO’s Sexual Health journal analysed almost 2,000 anonymous client records from the pregnancy counselling service Children by Choice between December 2018 and June 2020.

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Struggle to find bulk billing clinics for children prompts fears vaccination rates will fall

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Poorer families set to be hit most, expert says, while single mothers routinely neglect their own medical needs to afford children’s care

As more GP clinics abandon or significantly reduce bulk billing, parents and carers say it is becoming harder to find a clinic that routinely bulk bills children.

In response to Guardian Australia’s series on the bulk billing crisis, more than 300 people shared their stories of how health care costs are adding pressure to family budgets on top of the rising costs of living.

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Australia news live: Greens seek to reconvene Senate committee into former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate’s dismissal

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Departments – not politicians – should decide government grant recipients, Grattan Institute recommends

The Grattan Institute has a very timely report out today with a plan to end pork barrelling, which calls for departments rather than ministers to make the call on who receives grants.

Ministers should be able to establish grant programs and define the selection criteria, but they should not be involved in choosing grant recipients.

Shortlisting and selecting grant recipients is an administrative function for the relevant department or agency. Ministers should have bigger fish to fry.

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