Category Archives: Australia news

Fan who appeared to urinate from SCG roof given life ban by Rugby Australia

Posted on by

Wallabies fan who made his way to roof during third Test against England charged by police and condemned for ‘deplorable’ behaviour

Rugby Australia has condemned the “deplorable” behaviour of a Wallabies fan who climbed up the big screen during Saturday’s third Test against England and appeared to urinate from the roof of the SCG.

The intruder, who made his way to the roof of the Bill O’Reilly stand during the second half of the series decider, was charged by police after the game in Sydney and on Monday RA handed him a lifetime ban.

Continue reading...

Sydney teen Yusuf Zahab believed to have died in IS attack on Syrian jail after begging Australia for help

Posted on by

Family say they are ‘heartbroken and angry’ and claim the previous government knew about their son’s detention for more than three years

A south-west Sydney teenager is believed to have died in a Syrian jail months after begging the Australian government for assistance.

Yusuf Zahab, 17, had been detained in Guweiran prison in Hasaka city alongside suspected members of the Islamic State for three years when it was attacked by IS in January in an attempt to free its fighters.

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

Continue reading...

ANZ buys Suncorp’s banking arm for $4.9bn to boost Queensland presence

Posted on by

Queensland jobs and bank branches to be protected for at least three years under terms of the takeover

ANZ has agreed to buy Suncorp’s banking business for $4.9bn in a deal the big-four lender described as a vote of confidence in Queensland.

Under the deal, ANZ will continue operating under the Suncorp Bank brand for five years as it takes on an additional $47bn in home loans and $45bn in deposits.

Continue reading...

Eddie Jones in furious row after Australia rugby fans call him a traitor

Posted on by
  • Videos emerge of two incidents during England series decider
  • Rugby Australia condemns fans as ‘totally unacceptable”

Eddie Jones was embroiled in angry exchanges with Australian supporters, who accused the England head coach of being “a traitor”, following the series decider in Sydney on Saturday. Rugby Australia has condemned the behaviour as “totally unacceptable” after videos emerged on social media in which Jones reacted furiously to the insults.

Videos of two incidents came to light after England’s 21-17 win in Sydney to clinch the series. In one of the incidents, a supporter, who is seen holding a beer, can be heard being urged to “spray” Australia-born Jones before pointing at the former Wallabies head coach and saying: “You’re a traitor.”

Continue reading...

Lleyton Hewitt, ultimate ‘competitor’, inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame

Posted on by
  • Hewitt, 41, is the 34th Australian to be inducted into Hall of Fame
  • Two-time grand slam champion spent 80 weeks as ATP world No 1

When asked for one word to describe how he wanted to be remembered in tennis, Lleyton Hewitt paused for a moment: “Competitor,” the 41-year-old replied.

Speaking ahead of yesterday’s induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Adelaide boy, and youngest ever ATP world No 1 (at 20 years, eight months and 26 days) said his famously counter-punching, never-say-die style was his greatest legacy.

Continue reading...

PM criticised for ‘delaying’ flood support announcement – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Labor adopting ‘take it or leave it’ approach, says Bandt

Bandt warns the government is adopting a “take it or leave it” approach to negotiating climate legislation, when there are real issues to address, such as the extent of climate ambition and how to phase out fossil fuels.

We’re saying that’s not our position. We’re saying we’d be willing to have discussions with the government but these are the things that have to be on the table. We’re not going into it with ultimatums.

I’m not talking about bottom lines and ultimatums but you can’t even have this discussion if the government is saying it’s my way or the highway, which is with where, with respect to the target, where they’re at at the moment.

If we’re negotiating climate legislation, then this government, now they’re in power, has to grapple with the question of are they going to open up more coal and gas projects that could potentially blow 43% out of the water? Just one of those projects could do that.

Continue reading...

Victoria calls on 400 extra health workers to combat rising Covid hospitalisations

Posted on by

Premier, Daniel Andrews, announces a $162m package to fund specialist staff across 12 hospitals as Covid-related absentee rates climb

Victoria’s ailing public hospitals will be topped up with an extra 400 health workers to combat rising Covid hospitalisations and staff absenteeism.

A $162m package to respond to the emerging Omicron BA.4 and 5 variants, which are leaving more people in hospital and healthcare workers sick, was announced by the Victorian government on Sunday.

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

Continue reading...

Jim Chalmers defends delay in reinstating Covid leave payments as cases rise

Posted on by

The $750 payment for those who need to isolate due to Covid has been extended through September, following pressure on the government

Reinstating Covid-19 isolation payments was a necessary move in the wake of rising cases despite criticism the government was slow in doing so, according to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

With infections continuing to increase, a decision was made on Saturday to restore the leave pay measure until the end of September.

Continue reading...

Michael Matthews brings the heat with epic win at Tour de France

Posted on by
  • Australian rider claims first Tour de France victory in five years
  • Matthews braved 40 degree heat to fight back and win late duel

Australian cycling star Michael Matthews believes he’s reprised the story of his distinguished career with one epic triumph of rare courage and heart at the Tour de France.

The man from Canberra, known throughout cycling as “Bling” for his love of shiny baubles, produced his most glittering victory on Saturday on an exhausting, undulating 192.5km slog from Saint Etienne to Mende.

Continue reading...

Tool to assess jailed terrorists before release criticised as unreliable and prejudicial to Muslims

Posted on by

Offenders may be kept in prison after serving sentence, but wrongly made order ‘almost always amounts to arbitrary detention', rights group argues

A tool used by authorities to assess the risk posed by convicted terrorists before their release from prison is unreliable and should be investigated, the Australian Human Rights Commission and a peak body for Muslims have argued.

The Violent Extremism Risk Assessment 2 Revised, known as VERA-2R, is used to measure the threat posed by extremists, often when considering whether they will be subject to strict court orders once their prison sentence is completed.

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

Continue reading...

Sixty-three-year-old jobseeker forced to make 250km round trip to keep welfare benefits

Posted on by

Woman from Yorketown in South Australia has been referred to a job agency in Kadina under new Workforce Australia program

A 63-year-old woman from regional South Australia needs to make a 250km round trip to meet her mutual obligations and keep her benefits under the new $1.5bn-a-year Workforce Australia program.

Michelle*, who lives in Yorketown, on the Yorke Peninsula, has been referred to a job agency in Kadina, about one-and-a-half-hours’ drive or 125km from her home.

Continue reading...

NSW flood plain harvesting rules won’t protect environment, government advisers warn

Posted on by

Officials raised concerns water level targets would not ensure river health or meet needs of downstream communities, documents show

The Perrottet government has been warned by its own advisers that proposed flood plain harvesting rules will not adequately protect the environment or the needs of downstream communities in the Murray Darling Basin.

Documents obtained through parliament by independent MLC Justin Field show the government received advice that proposed targets meant to ensure river health were too low.

Continue reading...

Australian government wrongly cancelled citizenship of man on death row in Iraq, family claim

Posted on by

Ahmad Merhi, who travelled from Sydney to Syria and is accused of joining Islamic State, says he is now stateless as he awaits hanging

The former Coalition government wrongly cancelled the citizenship of an Australian man on death row in Iraq, leaving him stateless as he awaited hanging on terrorism charges, his family and lawyers claim.

Ahmad Merhi, originally from Sydney, travelled to Syria in 2014. He was captured in the country in 2017.

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

Continue reading...

Australia 17-21 England: third rugby union Test – as it happened

Posted on by

Michael Hooper has won the toss (for the first time this series I think) and Australia will kick-off.

Gerard Meagher has more on England’s injury situation.

Continue reading...

AMA welcomes Albanese’s decision to extend Covid-19 pandemic leave payments after national cabinet meets

Posted on by

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says support will continue until the end of September amid winter Covid wave set to peak in August

The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the federal government’s backflip on emergency Covid payments, and says they should say in place as long as necessary.

“They should never have been removed,” president Omar Khorshid said.

Continue reading...

Smiles and unity at the Pacific Islands Forum mask tough questions shelved for another day

Posted on by

While leaders presented a picture of harmony, more vexing topics like Australia’s fossil fuel ambitions and China were kicked down the road

At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum the leaders emerged from their retreat smiling, cut a giant cake with a sword and then, in an impromptu moment of diplomatic bonhomie, posed for a selfie after Anthony Albanese whipped out his phone, Ellen DeGeneres style.

It was, quite literally, a picture of harmony.

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

Continue reading...

Australia live updates: PM to meet with state and territory leaders at emergency national cabinet meeting as Covid hospitalisations soar

Posted on by

Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday and the pandemic leave payment is expected to be extended. Follow live

There were 11,082 new cases in the last reporting period, and 66 people are in intensive care.

First home buyers blowing their budgets

Underquoting is where a property is listed at a price lower than what it’s worth to bait buyers.

It’s illegal but it does happen, particularly in the case of auctions, where underquoted prices can attract more buyers and lead to a bidding war.

Continue reading...

‘In two years no one will care’: expert in institutional amnesia explains where flood response falls down

Posted on by

Ongoing focus on disaster management needed to avoid kneejerk reactions from one event to the next

Australia’s response to flood emergencies will only improve when governments can maintain focus in the times between crises, a researcher specialising in the topic has warned.

Speaking before the release of reports into this year’s floods in Queensland and NSW, Dr Alastair Stark, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Queensland, said disaster inquiries often produced effective lessons only for their implementation by governments and agencies to stall.

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

Continue reading...

‘Not just another wave’: Australia’s Covid hospitalisations reach record levels in several states

Posted on by

Experts warn of worse to come, with most states likely several weeks away from peak hospitalisation rates

Hospitals across the country are “bursting at the seams” as the number of people being admitted with Covid-19 reaches record levels in several states.

Western Australia recorded its highest number of Covid hospitalisations to date on Thursday, with Queensland also expected to surpass its January peak in coming days.

Continue reading...

Gas giant Chevron falls further behind on carbon capture targets for Gorgon gasfield

Posted on by

While scale of shortfall is uncertain, conservationists claim admission is proof the project isn’t working

Gas giant Chevron has fallen even further behind on targets to capture and store CO2 at its mega gas project in Western Australian, but has refused to say by how much.

The company also confirmed on Friday it had bought and surrendered 5.23m tonnes of CO2 offsets to make up for the failure to meet its 2021 target at its CCS project at the offshore Gorgon gasfield in Western Australia.

Continue reading...