Category Archives: Australia news

‘World’s largest’ electric ship measuring 130 metres launched by Tasmanian boatbuilder

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Manufacturer Incat built Hull 096 to run between Buenos Aires and Uruguay, dubbing it the ‘most complex’ project it has ever undertaken

An Australian boatbuilder has launched what it describes as the world’s largest battery-power ship, describing it as a “a giant leap forward in sustainable shipping” and the “most important” project it has ever done.

Incat, a manufacturer based in Tasmania, constructed the ship – called Hull 096 – after being contracted by the South American ferry operator Buquebus to build a vessel to run between the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, and Uruguay.

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Erin Patterson turned ‘extremely aggressive’ in dispute with estranged husband, mushroom murders trial hears

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Simon Patterson tells Victorian court of ‘inflammatory messages’ his wife sent to his parents amid a financial dispute

Erin Patterson was “extremely aggressive” during a financial dispute with her estranged husband about their children, a Victorian court has heard, as more message exchanges between the former couple were revealed.

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha in South Gippsland in 2023.

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Murder charges over shooting of gangland lawyer Joseph Acquaro dropped

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Victoria DPP’s move on charges against Vincenzo Crupi brings end to case that threatened to force police to reveal informer’s identity

The Victorian director of public prosecutions has dropped murder charges relating to the shooting death of gangland lawyer and police informer Joseph “Pino” Acquaro.

The explosive development brings to an end a court case that threatened to force Victoria police to reveal the identity of human sources in order to prosecute Vincenzo Crupi, who they alleged had murdered Acquaro.

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As Australia heads to the polls, big parties brace for rise of independents

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The soft, undecided and swinging voters are at an all-time high in Australia, while support for the centre-left Labor and conservative-leaning Coalition is low

More than 18 million Australians will head to the polls this Saturday to choose between the incumbent centre-left Labor party and its conservative-leaning Liberal/National Coalition challenger.

But about one in three voters will brush off the major contenders – led by the current prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton – in favour of someone else altogether, in an election marked by a cost of living crisis and the spectre of Donald Trump.

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Video shows moment Bondi Junction stabber ran at police officer in Sydney shopping centre holding knife

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CCTV footage released by court shows Amy Scott walking up an escalator, then starting to run when she sees Joel Cauchi

The New South Wales coroner’s court has released footage showing the moment the Bondi Junction stabber launched himself towards a lone police officer at speed holding a 30cm knife.

The video, made public on Thursday afternoon, is a compilation of CCTV footage and a 3D reconstruction of the route NSW Police inspector Amy Scott took when she entered Westfield Bondi Junction on 13 April 2024 in pursuit of Joel Cauchi, who had just stabbed 16 people.

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Journalist Nick McKenzie admits to ‘deceptive methods’ if in the public interest during Ben Roberts-Smith bid for appeal

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McKenzie was also questioned over his communications with Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife, Emma Roberts, and her friend Danielle Scott

Investigative journalist Nick McKenzie has agreed in Ben Roberts-Smith’s bid to reopen his appeal for his defamation case that he has used “deceptive methods and subterfuge” to obtain information “on occasion if it is in the public interest”.

McKenzie was cross-examined on Thursday afternoon by Roberts-Smith’s lawyer, Arthur Moses SC. It’s part of a two-day hearing in which the war veteran is arguing the appeal should be reopened in light of new evidence that he claims shows there was a “miscarriage of justice” in the defamation proceedings caused by McKenzie’s alleged “misconduct”.

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Dutton says Labor’s super plan is a ‘quasi inheritance tax’. What’s going on?

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Many countries impose a form of inheritance tax on deceased estates, but does Albanese’s policy fit the bill?

Peter Dutton has described Labor’s plan to reduce tax breaks on superannuation balances larger than $3m as a “quasi inheritance tax”.

The description was made days out from polling day, as the major parties tore apart their opponent’s policies in a last-ditch effort to win votes.

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Australia election 2025 live: Peter Dutton to reveal Coalition policy costings; house prices rise again

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Coalition claims it will save $10bn more over four years compared with Labor. Follow today’s news live

Good morning and welcome to our live election blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will take over.

Our top story this morning is on the “handshake” deal by the Nationals to move One Nation up its preference list that could help win the New South Wales electorate of Hunter. The deal has been made despite Pauline Hanson’s candidate being known for calling public health officials “little Hitlers” and promoting a conspiracy theory that the climate crisis has been used to control every aspect of people’s lives.

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People with endometriosis more likely to experience early menopause, study finds

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Surgical menopause occurs on average 19 months earlier, while natural menopause happens five months earlier, new global research shows

Women with endometriosis face a higher risk of premature and early menopause and are seven times more likely to experience surgical menopause, a study has found.

Surgical menopause occurs when a woman has both ovaries removed before reaching natural menopause, and may be done to treat endometriosis if other treatments fail.

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Who is H Fong, the man authorising the flurry of annoying Trumpet of Patriots text messages in Australia?

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Unsolicited texts authorised by Harry Fong, a Senate candidate for Queensland and ‘highly respected barrister’ who befriended Clive Palmer in 1970s

Australians have been infuriated this election cycle, yet again, by a deluge of unsolicited text messages from a political party associated with Clive Palmer.

“You don’t need to be welcomed to your own country, 3% home loans Vote 1 Trumpet of Patriots,” some of the texts read.

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One Nation candidate poised to help Coalition in handshake deal has railed against climate science and Covid ‘little Hitlers’

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Exclusive: Stuart Bonds could hand the Nationals the seat of Hunter thanks to a preference deal and ‘last minute’ change to how-to-vote cards

A One Nation candidate who could hand the Nationals the seat of Hunter, thanks to a handshake preference deal, has called public health officials “little Hitlers” and promoted a conspiracy theory alleging the government has used the climate crisis to control every aspect of people’s lives.

Stuart Bonds told a livestreamed forum with rightwing activists last week that the federal government should not do anything to address climate change. He also claimed “a crime” was committed against Australians during the Covid pandemic, alleging they were used “as an experiment to sell pharmaceutical projects”.

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Paramedic denied access to Bondi Junction ‘hot zone’ tells stabbing inquest policies ‘need to change’

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Critical care paramedic Christopher Wilkinson arrived at Westfield 30 minutes after Joel Cauchi attacked 16 people, killing six

A New South Wales ambulance officer who attempted to save the lives of Bondi Junction stabbing victims on 13 April 2024 says he was “frustrated” after not being able to access injured and potentially dying patients.

Six people were stabbed to death by schizophrenic man Joel Cauchi at the Westfield shopping centre.

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Donald Trump says he ‘will be talking’ to Australia’s prime minister about tariffs

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US president indicated he was aware Anthony Albanese has been pushing for an exemption to trade barriers

Donald Trump says he will speak to the Australian prime minister about trade, telling reporters he knows the Australian government has been trying to contact him.

Australia goes to a federal election on Saturday and while the incumbent, Anthony Albanese, is favoured to win, Trump could be dealing with an alternative prime minister after the weekend.

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Coalition coy on curriculum changes despite Dutton’s claims of student ‘indoctrination’

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Coalition’s outline of changes to national curriculum based on ‘critical thinking’ and ‘common sense’ is yet to be revealed

The Coalition has refused to detail changes it would make to the national curriculum after Peter Dutton said students were being “indoctrinated” and pledged in his budget reply speech to “restore” a curriculum focused on “critical thinking, responsible citizenship, and common sense”.

Dutton has made repeated references to the education system in recent weeks, including floating on Sky News placing a “condition” on funding to ensure kids weren’t “guided by some sort of an agenda that’s come out of universities” and pledging “we need to stop the teaching of some of the curriculum that says that our children should be ashamed of being Australian” in the Channel 7 debate.

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RecipeTin Eats founder accuses Brooki Bakehouse of plagiarising recipes in popular cookbook

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Brooke Bellamy denies taking recipes from fellow cookbook author Nagi Maehashi who said it felt like ‘blatant exploitation’

The founder of food website RecipeTin Eats has accused an influencer of plagiarising her recipes in a bestselling Australian cookbook.

On Tuesday Nagi Maehashi, who started RecipeTin Eats in 2014, accused Brooke Bellamy – also known as Brooki Bakehouse – of plagiarising two of her recipes in Bellamy’s popular cookbook, Bake with Brooki.

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Macquarie ‘very proud’ of Thames Water ownership despite loading it with debt

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Some analysts claim investment bank set supplier on course for collapse before selling it in 2017

The investment bank that sold Thames Water in 2017 after loading the company with debt has said that it is “very proud” of its record, even as the water utility teeters on the verge of collapse.

Australia-headquartered Macquarie led a consortium that owned Thames Water from 2006 until 2017. Macquarie has been criticised by some politicians and analysts for its control of the business, accusing the bank of setting it on course for financial collapse.

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Nine journalist Nick McKenzie allegedly told of Ben Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife’s planned legal action

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Roberts-Smith argues his unsuccessful defamation case against McKenzie and Nine newspapers should be retried because of a ‘miscarriage of justice’

The Nine journalist Nick McKenzie was told about a legal action Ben Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife planned to take against the war veteran ahead of his defamation trial, a court has heard, with the informant allegedly telling him “it’s always good to be on the front foot”.

On Tuesday the federal court of Australia heard that a friend of Emma Roberts had told McKenzie that Roberts-Smith was planning to notify and write to the Commonwealth director of public prosecutions (CDPP) about an alleged “breach” and to “restrain any further publications being made”.

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This article was amended on 2 May 2025. An earlier version incorrectly stated that Nick McKenzie was told Emma Roberts planned to contact the CDPP. McKenzie was told that Ben Roberts-Smith planned to do this.

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Erin Patterson no longer accused of attempting to kill husband as mushroom murders trial begins

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Victorian supreme court judge tells jury that charges relating to Simon Patterson have been dropped

The trial of Erin Patterson for allegedly murdering her in-laws by serving them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms has started in a Victorian court.

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.

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‘The eighth wonder of the world’: China’s terracotta warriors to march on Australia for blockbuster show

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Perth will host huge exhibition of ancient treasures from first emperor’s tomb in June, with 40% of the artefacts leaving China for the first time ever

Two thousand years ago, in a bid to conquer death itself, China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned a city of the dead: a 49 sq km mausoleum guarded by an army of clay warriors, built to defend his tomb for eternity.

When farmers near Xi’an unearthed the first clay head in 1974, they cracked open one of humanity’s greatest archaeological mysteries, with more than 8,000 Terracotta Warriors discovered over the last 50 years. Now, fragments of that dream of immortality rise again – this time in Perth, where the largest exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors ever staged in Australia will head later this year

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The Coalition denies emissions will rise if it wins the election. What do the facts say?

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We break down the major parties’ climate claims, counter-claims and policies – and find out what the experts say

The Coalition has disputed claims that greenhouse gas emissions would be higher if it won the election than under a returned Labor government. It points to its record between 2013 and 2022 compared with what has happened under Labor over the past three years.

Speaking to the ABC’s RN Breakfast on Monday, the Coalition climate change and energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, said “under the former Coalition government you saw emissions fall” – from 12% to 29% less than 2005 levels. And that in Labor’s three years in office emissions “have flatlined”, showing the ALP has “failed”.

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