Category Archives: Australia news

Two-year wait for a wheelchair: inquiry hears of difficulty accessing NDIS for remote Indigenous communities

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Royal commission told NDIA services and communications need to be tailored to meet the needs of First Nations people

An Indigenous person living with disability in a remote Northern Territory community had to wait two years for a wheelchair, a royal commission has been told.

A report into National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) performance at Ngukurr, 635km from Darwin, found mainstream models of delivery were not working, and would not work in other remote areas.

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Australia news live: nation records 66 Covid deaths as push for Albanese to continue pandemic leave payments and free RATs grows

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NSW has recorded 12,228 new cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are 2,027 people in hospital and of those, 60 are in ICU.

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Film based on Daniel Morcombe murder case is ‘selfish cash grab’, parents say

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Bruce Morcombe asks filmgoers to not see Thomas M Wright’s The Stranger, but producers say it does not name Daniel or depict his death

The father of murdered Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has called for Australians to boycott The Stranger, a film based on the undercover police operation that led to the arrest of Morcombe’s killer, which is scheduled to premiere next month.

On Friday, Bruce Morcombe told Perth’s 6PR radio station that filmgoers should “save their 20 bucks” on a film ticket and instead donate it to the foundation set up in his son’s name.

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Albanese to restore Covid leave payment as emergency national cabinet meeting called

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Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday as government backflips on pandemic support

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Anthony Albanese will propose that Canberra and the states extend the pandemic leave payment during a snap national cabinet briefing that has been expedited to Saturday.

The government has spent the past week signalling the existing $750 payment would not be extended over the winter for budgetary reasons, but that decision has been reversed after mounting pressure from backbenchers, premiers, and health experts.

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Police prosecutor claimed case over Black Lives Matter rally was ‘fatally flawed’, Melbourne court told

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Officer who allegedly flagged the dropping of charges was not authorised to make that decision, Victoria police tell court

A Victoria police prosecutor had told lawyers for two women charged over a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally held in Melbourne that the case against them was “fatally flawed” and said charges would be withdrawn immediately, the organisers’ lawyer has told a court.

Crystal McKinnon, 41, and Meriki Onus, 34 were charged with breaching directions of Victoria’s chief health officer by planning the protest against Indigenous deaths in custody during a Covid lockdown.

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Covid-19 Australia data tracker: coronavirus cases today, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccination

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Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and live state by state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT. We bring together the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.

Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of the pandemic in Australia. Here we have brought together data on cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccinations.

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Senior public servant questioned Women’s Network rebrand but not phallic logo design, documents show

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Federal government’s ‘women’s champion’ did not raise concerns about purple, elongated emblem but asked who initiated rebrand

A senior public servant designated as the federal government’s “women’s champion” raised questions about a controversial new logo for the Women’s Network, though no concerns were raised about the design’s phallic appearance, according to newly released documents.

The purple, elongated logo was swiftly withdrawn in March after much public mockery, with the National Older Women’s Network describing the image as “either thoughtless or an insult”.

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Pacific leaders welcome Australia’s ‘renewed commitment’ to climate change

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Albanese hails Pacific Island Leaders Forum a success but Fiji’s prime minister says Australia must end its ‘fossil fuel addiction’


Pacific leaders have welcomed Australia’s “renewed commitment” on climate change and interest in co-hosting a United Nations climate summit with Pacific nations, as Anthony Albanese heralds a successful reset of relationships in the region.

At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on Thursday, leaders emerged on time and smiling from their daylong leaders’ retreat, before cutting a cake with a ceremonial sword and posing for a selfie when Albanese pulled out his phone.

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Labor to reshape carbon credit committee as Coalition-appointed members resign

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Climate change minister Chris Bowen has accepted the resignation of three members of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee

Labor will make substantial changes to a committee responsible for ensuring the integrity of the national carbon credit system after the departure of three members appointed by the Coalition, including the chair.

A spokesperson for the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, confirmed he had accepted the resignation of three members of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee.

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Chris Bowen shares draft climate bill as independents and Greens turn up heat for more ambitious action

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Greens call for moratorium on new oil and gas projects as some independents urge Labor not to rush major policy for political reasons

The minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, is under intensifying pressure to beef up the government’s proposed legislation enshrining emissions reduction targets, with the Greens and some independents declaring the current commitments inadequate.

Bowen met on Thursday with climate focused independent MPs and representatives from the Greens to share a draft of the bill he will introduce during the first sitting week of the new parliament. He has invited MPs and senators to suggest amendments or ideas over the coming days.

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Flood-hit Lismore ice-cream factory gets 11th-hour funding reprieve

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Federal government announces $2.7m package day before Norco’s workforce was to be stood down

The federal government has stepped in to save jobs at a flood-ravaged ice-cream factory in Lismore a day before 170 workers were due to be stood down.

The Norco ice-cream factory was severely damaged by catastrophic floods in February, and the dairy co-operative’s farmer members are unable to cover workforce costs while it is out of action.

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Labor backbenchers call for pandemic supports to continue as PM announces snap national cabinet meeting

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Exclusive: Federal Labor MPs join NSW Labor leader Chris Minns in calling for Albanese government to rethink decision on Covid policies

Labor backbenchers are calling on the government to restore Covid pandemic leave payments, saying the measure is needed for people struggling with the cost of living to help slow the spread of the virus.

It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has agreed to hold a snap national cabinet meeting on Monday morning with state and territory leaders, after Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk requested an update on the health advice and Covid situation from the chief medical officer.

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‘Instruments of injustice’: Victoria’s highest court denounces state’s mandatory sentencing

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Justices Chris Maxwell and Terence Forrest said the ‘oppressive sentencing regime’ ignored evidence and was contrary to public interest

Victoria’s highest court has delivered a withering assessment of the state’s mandatory sentencing regime, saying it required “judges to be instruments of injustice” and showed a “profound misunderstanding” of the community’s best interests.

In a judgment published on Thursday, court of appeal president, Justice Chris Maxwell, and Justice Terence Forrest said introducing mandatory sentencing for a range of offences over the past decade showed that state governments appeared to have “ignored the incontestable evidence about the adverse impact of adult gaol on young offenders”.

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Queensland police officer minimised domestic violence despite ‘punch-sized’ bruises, inquiry hears

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Inquiry told threat to decapitate a dog and ‘clear photographic evidence’ of assault on woman downplayed

A domestic violence victim was “failed” by a Queensland police officer who minimised her assault, despite clear evidence of a “punch-sized” bruise on her ribcage and allegations her partner threatened to decapitate a dog, a commission of inquiry has heard.

The inquiry into police responses to domestic and family violence also heard of instances of officers failing to switch on body-worn cameras and victims being turned away from front counters when attempting to report domestic violence.

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Nation records 78 Covid deaths – as it happened

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The International Monetary Fund could downgrade its expectations for global economic growth this month.

Its head Kristalina Georgieva has hinted as much, saying the war in Ukraine, higher than expected inflation and the Covid pandemic are to blame.

As G20 ministers and central bank governors gather in Bali this week, they face a global economic outlook that has darkened significantly.

Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter – and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for both 2022 and 2023 in our World Economic Outlook Update later this month.

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Australian PM Albanese ‘very confident’ there will be no Chinese bases in Solomon Islands

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Prime minister Anthony Albanese’s comments come after meeting with Solomons leader at Pacific Islands Forum and despite Pacific nation’s security pact with China

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said he is “very confident” there will not be Chinese bases in Solomon Islands, despite the two countries’ security pact.

Albanese made the comments from Fiji, where he is attending the Pacific Islands Forum in a bid to reset relations with Pacific neighbours by outlining higher ambitions on climate change and asking for Australia to remain the region’s security partner of choice, not China.

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Brad Fittler hits out at ‘ridiculous’ Matt Burton sin-bin after State of Origin brawl

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  • Burton and Dane Gagai trade punches in series decider
  • Both players binned at Suncorp Stadium but escape suspension

Coach Brad Fittler thinks Matt Burton’s sin-binning in the State of Origin decider was a “tad ridiculous” as NSW lick their wounds after the Maroons’ comeback win. Blues centre Burton and Queensland opposite Dane Gagai were both sin-binned as the Origin series decider descended into a throwback, fists flying in a second-half brawl.

The pair were given a spell by referee Ashley Klein in the 42nd minute after the Maroons made a snap break at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night. As Queensland burst upfield, Burton collided with Maroons fullback Kalyn Ponga after he had passed and was trying to catch up with the play.

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Labor backing fossil fuel projects could scupper Greens support for 43% target

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Adam Bandt vows to push Albanese government ‘further and faster’ on emissions reduction

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says the party’s support for the government’s climate legislation may hinge on whether it continues to back new fossil fuel projects, vowing to push Labor to go “further and faster” on its emission reduction goals.

Hitting back at the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, after he suggested the government would not negotiate with the Greens to pass the legislation through the Senate, Bandt accused Labor of being the “only obstacle” to greater climate ambition in the new parliament.

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Covid deaths in aged care reach almost 100 a week as active cases surge across Australia

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Rising case numbers and death rates prompt fears that two-thirds of providers could be grappling with outbreaks in next six weeks

Almost 100 aged care residents are dying from Covid each week with active cases linked to the more than 700 current outbreaks in facilities reaching near-record levels for 2022, data shows.

An analysis of government data on Covid in aged care shows a worrying surge in the weekly number of deaths, number of active outbreaks, and cases among residents.

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Linda Reynolds more than six months late in declaring series of share trades on register

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Coalition senator blames ‘administrative oversight’ for delayed disclosure of shares including in Electro Optic Systems, which had previously been awarded millions in government contracts

Senator Linda Reynolds was more than six months late in declaring a series of share trades on her register of interests, including one involving a defence company which had previously been awarded millions in government contracts during her time as defence minister.

Reynolds, who was defence minister until March 2021 when she became government services minister, acquired shares in Falcon Metals, Electro Optic Systems Holdings and BrainChip Holdings in October and November 2021.

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