Category Archives: Australia news

New eradication zone established and 600 hives destroyed as NSW bee industry battles varroa mite

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Producers and apiarists remain concerned about future almond harvest and potential for mites to carry deformed wing virus

As many as 600 beehives and at least six million bees have been destroyed and another eradication zone has been established in New South Wales following the deadly varroa mite outbreak.

Concerns remained around almond harvest as well as the threat of the mites having a virus of their own, compounding problems for the state’s bees after the deadly parasite was discovered last week at hives near the Port of Newcastle.

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Victoria to demand governments set completion dates for energy transmission projects

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State energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, says investors need confidence electricity grid will be ready for renewables

Victoria will demand at the next meeting of federal and state energy ministers that governments set dates for the completion of transmission links to ensure renewable energy projects worth billions of dollars can be connected to the grid on time.

The latest roadmap for updating the National Energy Market, released on Thursday by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo), identified five major new transmission lines requiring urgent action so enough new clean energy and storage capacity is built in time for the expected accelerated exit of ageing coal-fired power plants from the grid.

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Former Australian chief scientist to head review of carbon credit scheme after whistleblower revelations

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Climate change minister to announce Prof Ian Chubb will lead six-month probe of scheme labelled ‘largely a sham’ by one expert

The former Australian chief scientist and senior academic, Prof Ian Chubb, has been appointed to head a thorough review of Australia’s carbon credit scheme as experts escalate calls for a complete overhaul of the system.

Chris Bowen, the climate change minister, will announce on Friday that Chubb, a neuroscientist and former vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, will lead the six-month review of the scheme, after a respected whistleblower described it as a fraud and waste of taxpayer money.

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Nation records 60 Covid deaths as SA reports first monkeypox case – as it happened

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Nation records 60 Covid deaths; SA records first monkeypox case; Anthony Albanese meets Justin Trudeau at Nato summit. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has renewed his calls for China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world”.

Albanese – who has been in Madrid for a Nato summit – spoke to reporters yesterday after having a meeting on the sidelines with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

There we discussed the important focus of this Nato’s summit on the Asia-Pacific region. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has solidified the support amongst democratic countries for the rules-based international order and a determination to continue to provide support to the government and the people of Ukraine who are suffering as a result of this breach of international law and this brutal invasion by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Vladimir Putin has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world and provide a real determination to make sure that the resilience being shown by the Ukrainian people is backed up by resilience and support from democratic countries, including Nato, but also countries throughout the world.

Well, what we saw is prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw a without-limits partnership between Russia and China. We’ve seen a failure of China to condemn any of the Russian aggression that has occurred against Ukraine. China must look at what is happening and look at the resolve that is there from throughout the world and should be condemning Russia’s actions.

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What makes a song sound happy? It depends on your culture, study finds

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The perception of music in major keys as happy and minor keys as sad is not universal, Australian researchers say

What makes a piece of music seem happy or sad? Whether it has been composed in a major or minor key is a significant factor. It’s part of what distinguishes the cheeriness of Walking on Sunshine from the pensiveness of Ain’t No Sunshine, for example.

But the perception of major keys as happy and minor keys as sad is not universal, according to Australian research that suggests the effect may result from the influence of western culture.

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Just 24 health workers helped under Morrison government scheme to bring 2,000 medics to Australia

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Travel program set up by Greg Hunt in 2021 discontinued after two months with two dozen people receiving direct assistance

Just 24 medical practitioners received direct assistance to come to Australia under a travel program announced by the Morrison government which promised to bring an extra 2,000 doctors and nurses into the country.

As Australia faces skills shortages across the health and aged care sectors, information obtained from the Department of Health shows that a program set up by the former health minister Greg Hunt in October last year that promised to bring in an extra 2,000 health practitioners over six months was discontinued after just two months.

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Unseasonal deluge to bring wet and windy end to Australia’s east coast winter dry spell

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New South Wales and Queensland set for coastal showers with wet weather to last into mid-next week

The winter dry spell is set to end this week with the east coast of Australia set to receive a deluge leading up to the weekend, while record-breaking rainfall is expected for parts of northern Australia.

A cold front moving towards the east coast will bring coastal showers and wet weather to most of the New South Wales and Queensland coast.

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Families of murder victims Hannah Clarke and Doreen Langham join call for specialist police stations

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‘Women have had enough,’ says Prof Kerry Carrington, who has been advocating for domestic violence stations since 2015

The violent murders of Doreen Langham and Hannah Clarke by their former partners should be a wakeup call to all Australian jurisdictions to consider specialist domestic violence police stations, according to experts and family members of the victims.

A trial of specialist stations has been recommended twice this week by deputy Queensland coroner Jane Bentley, as she handed down findings from separate inquests into the murders of Langham, on Monday, and Clarke and her children – Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey – on Wednesday.

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‘Covid has broken us’: warnings of a mass resignation among Victorian paramedics

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Exclusive: 16% plan to look for new jobs according to survey of 348 Ambulance Victoria staff

Bill Briggs had worked as a paramedic for more than three decades when, during Victoria’s second extended Covid lockdown, he “lost the plot”.

“I was just plodding along, doing the job, not getting any complaints from anyone and then I had a disagreement with another paramedic and I just exploded, which is not like me at all,” Briggs says.

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Lismore ice-cream factory ‘will need to stand down 240 people’ unless flood support extended

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Norco says 44 workers who lost homes would be affected if government assistance ends

An ice-cream factory will stand down 240 workers in Lismore next month – including 44 who lost their homes in floods earlier this year – unless government support is extended.

Michael Hampson, the chief executive of Norco, the factory operator, said the decision came in the absence of further details of any federal assistance and confirmation the state government would not contribute to any further support package.

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Nations must work together through ‘conflict and crisis’ to reduce climate change risks, Albanese tells OECD

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Prime minister will say food insecurity has become a significant challenge and Australia has a major role to play in meeting the challenge

Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese will declare the world must raise ambition to reduce the risks of runaway global heating and cooperate amid national policy differences even when “long shadows of conflict and crisis are threatening our shared security”.

The prime minister will use a speech to a special session of the council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris to launch a clarion call for international cooperation on climate policy, as well as practical measures to safeguard energy and food security, as the world grapples with disruptions created by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

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Police concerned about impact of The Teacher’s Pet on witnesses, Chris Dawson murder trial hears

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Lead investigator said they were cautious with the reliability of witnesses who had appeared on or listened to podcast about Lynette Dawson’s disappearance

The lead investigator into Lynette Dawson’s disappearance has said in court he was concerned about whether journalist Hedley Thomas could have contaminated evidence through his podcast, The Teacher’s Pet.

Detective senior constable Daniel Poole returned to the NSW Supreme court on Wednesday to give evidence in Christopher Michael Dawson’s murder trial.

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Australia news live updates: ‘optimistic in the extreme’ to expect operational nuclear submarine by the 2030s, says Marles

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Defence minister blames Coalition for submarine delay; NSW parliamentary inquiry into Barilaro appointment begins; David Hurley apologises for promoting builder; Chris Bowen addresses National Press Club; NSW records 11 Covid deaths, Tasmania one. Follow live

Turnbull says Albanese ‘is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage’

Australia’s new prime minister will have an easier time mending relations with the French “because he is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage”, the former leader Malcolm Turnbull has told journalists in Paris.

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Governor general David Hurley apologises for video praising builder who renovated his home

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Queen’s representative says decision was made ‘on the spur of a happy moment’ and his words were not intended to be used in advertising

Australia’s governor general, David Hurley, has apologised for a decision made “on the spur of a happy moment” to pose for a photo with and provide a testimonial for a builder who completed his home renovation, which was later used in the company’s advertising material on its website and social media.

Hurley said he had received no benefit for his comments or the photo, had never intended them to be used in commercial advertising and had not made reference to his position as the Queen’s representative.

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Candidate for John Barilaro’s NY role had offer retracted after ‘government decision’, inquiry told

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Head of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, told to ‘unwind’ process after an instruction from the office of the then deputy premier John Barilaro

Businesswoman Jenny West was given a “verbal offer” for a New York-based trade commissioner job, but the head of Investment New South Wales, Amy Brown, was told to “unwind” the process after an instruction from the office of the then deputy premier John Barilaro.

In an explosive hearing of an upper house inquiry investigating how Barilaro was eventually offered the $500,000-a-year role, Brown, a senior public servant responsible for filling the role, revealed West was told she had got the job in August last year.

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Financial advisor jailed after stealing more than $363,000 from ‘vulnerable’ single mother client

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Scott Hines, who formerly worked in ANZ’s Mildura branch, has been sentenced to three years and five months in prison

A vulnerable single mother was focused on caring for her disabled daughter when she trusted Scott Hines, an ANZ financial adviser, to look after her finances.

Over seven years, the 41-year-old Mildura man gradually took full control of her bank accounts, stealing more than $363,000.

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Mother of crash victim launches petition to sack drink-driving Queensland mayor

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Judy Lindsay had met with mayor Karen Williams earlier that day to discuss loss of her daughter in drink-driving incident

Separate petitions calling for the sacking of a Queensland mayor who admitted crashing her vehicle into a tree east of Brisbane after drinks at a work function have been signed by more than 6,300 people.

Redlands mayor, Karen Williams – a campaigner against drink-driving – conceded she had had “several glasses of wine” prior to the crash, which came hours after she met with families who had lost loved ones in accidents caused by drink-drivers.

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Three in four Australians believe US ties increase chance of war involvement in Asia, poll shows

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Lowy Institute’s foreign policy poll also finds 74% of respondents support democracy over any other form of government

More than three in four Australians believe the alliance with the United States makes it more likely Australia would be drawn into a war in Asia against the national interest, a new poll shows.

The Lowy Institute’s annual foreign policy poll suggests that Australians are increasingly worried about the rise of authoritarianism and global instability, while their preference for democracy has reached a record high.

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PM says EU trade talks stalled over perception of Australia as ‘handbrake’ on climate action

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Anthony Albanese blames lack of climate leadership and relationship breakdown with France for hindering European deals

Negotiations for a “critical” trade deal with the EU have stalled over perceptions Australia isn’t “fair dinkum” on climate change action and due to a fractured relationship with France, Anthony Albanese said.

The prime minister met with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, on Tuesday in Madrid before the Nato summit, marking the first bilateral visit by an Australian prime minister.

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Uber and Transport Workers’ Union strike agreement on gig economy employment standards

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Ride-sharing giant and union support an independent regulatory body to create industry-wide standards and resolve disputes

Ride-sharing giant Uber and the Transport Workers’ Union have struck a landmark agreement on proposed employment standards and benefits ahead of expected new gig economy regulation from the Albanese government.

The union and Uber have also agreed to jointly support the creation of a new independent government-funded regulatory body to create industry-wide standards for ride share and food delivery gig workers following months of negotiations.

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