Category Archives: Australia news

Australia live news updates: Anthony Albanese to meet EU president; NSW Greens criticise police ‘overreach’ against climate activists

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NSW Greens criticise ‘overreach’ of police operation against climate activists; Anthony Albanese leaving Sunday for Europe visit; protester interrupts Chinese ambassador’s Sydney address; Chris Bowen says energy market has returned to ‘normal market conditions’; report of aged care providers operating at a loss; nation records at least 46 Covid deaths. Follow the day’s news

Qantas is forecasting a loss of up to $550m this year, despite strong demand for domestic and international flights allowing it to reduce its net debt to $4bn by the end of this financial year.

That’s a $1.5bn improvement in the past six months.

We don’t want a circumstance whereby there’s risk to Australian personnel by undertaking such a visit, but we’ll take that advice and we’ll act accordingly.

We’ve formed a special bond with Ukraine. President Zelenskiy is one of the century’s great heroes, and he’s provided inspiration not only to his people but to the rest of the world as well.

I hope that we can visit in due course and if the prime minister is able to visit, if that’s the security advice he’s received, that it’s safe for him and for his delegation to visit, then I think it’s entirely appropriate that he would.

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‘Pandora’s box’: experts say Queensland’s windfall from coal royalties could set a precedent

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Industry and analysts predict budget measure could provide billions in additional revenue

Queensland’s rewriting of royalty rules could tip billions of dollars more into its coffers this coming year, with an analyst saying it’s a missed opportunity for New South Wales that is still open to other states and the commonwealth to mimic.

The Queensland budget this week imposed three trigger points for higher mining royalties, which the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) predicts will deliver an extra $15bn in 2022-23.

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Silver lining: Australian researchers given $45m to study alternative solar panel materials

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Research to focus on more efficient and durable solar cells, increasing manufacturing capacity and a shift to more abundant and cheaper metals

The Albanese government has extended funding for Australia’s world-leading solar energy scientists as they race to increase panel efficiency and shift to more abundant materials, before constraints on silver and other metals hobble the industry’s growth.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will announce on Friday it will grant $45m over the next eight years to the University of NSW-based Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics. Most of the money will be spent within the first five years.

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Australian holidaymakers pay through the roof for accommodation as staff shortages bite

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Average hotel charges skyrocket amid rising demand for travel and dearth of hospitality workers

Holidaymakers in Australia are being warned they will pay more for accomodation as prices soar amid high demand, while crippling staff shortages are forcing some hoteliers to cap visitor numbers.

Data from travel booking website Trivago’s hotel price index, which analyses prices from over 400 booking sites, shows average hotel charges in Australia have skyrocketed since pandemic restrictions eased.

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Sussan Ley backs Peter Dutton’s decision to oppose emissions legislation but signals future room for change

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Deputy opposition leader criticises government’s 43% reduction target but says Liberal party’s climate position is not fixed

The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has backed Peter Dutton’s decision to oppose government legislation to cut emissions by 43% by 2030, but signalled the Coalition’s climate policy could shift before the next federal election.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, the new deputy Liberal leader said it was “sensible” for the opposition not to jettison policies it took to the May election.

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Australian research finds effects of loneliness during Covid lockdowns ‘substantial and uneven’

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People on low incomes, who had disabilities or who were carers were less likely to recover quickly post-lockdown, study shows

“Everyone became withdrawn, even after restrictions ended,” one man said of his experience following Australia’s pandemic lockdowns.

“No one wants to hang out any more … [it] feels like life and society have permanently changed.”

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NSW police overreached in treatment of protesters after botched raid, civil groups say

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Human rights and environment organisations call for police to act ‘responsibly, with integrity’ ahead of planned climate action in Sydney

Unions, human rights groups and environmental organisations say police overreached in their treatment of protesters arrested after a bungled raid on the weekend, and have urged officers to act responsibly amid plans for climate action across Sydney in coming days.

The police operation targeting Blockade Australia protesters in the Colo Valley, in Sydney’s north-west, unravelled on Sunday when an activist at the remote property noticed two people wearing camouflage gear in bushland to the rear of the camp.

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Senior ministers to retire before Victoria’s election – as it happened

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Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Australian scientists celebrate world first

AAP is reporting that in a world first, Australian scientists have developed a device with “exquisite precision” that they say is a huge step towards a commercial quantum computer.

This is a remarkable piece of engineering. This experiment paves the way for larger and more complex quantum systems to be emulated in future.

It won’t be long before we can start to realise new materials that have never existed before.

All of this is just a fantasy because they don’t understand what actually happens at the bargaining table.

I think the Reserve Bank governor has weirdly changed his tune, he was the one who said so long as wages keep up with inflation and productivity, they are not inflationary.

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Staffer felt ‘traumatised’ after working with Craig Kelly adviser Frank Zumbo, court hears

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Young woman tells court her years in the office were ‘awful’ and says she only felt safe after moving interstate

A young woman felt “fucked up” and “traumatised” after finishing working with a senior staff member of former MP Craig Kelly, only feeling safe once she had moved away from Sydney, a court has heard.

Francesco “Frank” Zumbo, 55, is facing 20 charges, including sexual touching and indecent assault, related to accusations made by five women between 2014 and 2020.

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Miles Franklin 2022: shortlist revealed for Australia’s prestigious literary prize

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A self-published novel by Michael Winkler joins Alice Pung, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Michelle de Kretser and Jennifer Down to compete for $60,000


A self-published book has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin for the first time in the award’s 65-year history, with Michael Winkler’s cult hit Grimmish clearing the final hurdle before Australia’s most prestigious literary prize is announced on 20 July.

Announced on Thursday evening, Grimmish joins Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s The Other Half of You, Michelle de Kretser’s Scary Monsters, Jennifer Down’s Bodies of Light and Alice Pung’s One Hundred Days to compete for the $60,000 prize.

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Recruiter told to halt search for New York trade role a day before John Barilaro’s resignation

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Exclusive: Email from head of Investment NSW said New York position would now be handled as an ‘internal matter’

The public servant responsible for handing John Barilaro a plum $500,000-a-year trade job in New York City told the recruitment firm searching for an appropriate candidate that it would be handled as an “internal matter”.

On 3 October, the day before Barilaro announced he would resign from parliament, Amy Brown, the chief executive officer of Investment NSW, told a representative of recruiter NGS Global the job would now be a “ministerial appointment” and that her services were no longer required.

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Coalition government spent $6m prosecuting Bernard Collaery and three other whistleblowers

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Exclusive: Figures provided to the Guardian reveal exorbitant legal bill for pursuing cases against Collaery, Witness K, Richard Boyle and David McBride

The former Coalition government spent almost $6m prosecuting Bernard Collaery, Witness K, Richard Boyle and David McBride over their actions in exposing wrongdoing and misconduct, new data shows.

Figures provided to the Guardian show the costs of the prosecutions has almost doubled in two years, leaving taxpayers with an exorbitant legal bill well before the cases have reached trial.

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Family of Hungry Panda delivery rider killed at work awarded $834,000 in landmark decision

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Family to receive compensation for death of Xiaojun Chen in what union says is first case where a gig economy worker has been considered an employee

The family of a Happy Panda delivery rider killed in Sydney in 2020 will receive more than $800,000 under the NSW workers’ compensation scheme, in what the union says is the first case where a gig economy worker has been considered an employee.

Xiaojun Chen was killed after being struck by a bus while riding his motorbike in the Sydney suburb of Zetland on 29 September 2020, while working for Hungry Panda.

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Collingwood star Jordan De Goey on personal leave after apologising for Bali behaviour

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  • AFL club says De Goey won’t play against GWS on Sunday
  • Leave comes after player hit with $25,000 suspended fine

Controversial Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has been given personal leave by the AFL club, with no time frame set on his return.

It comes a day after he was hit with a $25,000 suspended fine and he apologised for his “disrespectful” conduct while partying in Bali.

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NSW Labor pledges measures for public transport, toll relief and preschools in state budget reply

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Opposition denies claims of running a ‘low-level scare campaign’ on Perrottet government’s proposed land tax implementation

Public transport built in NSW, toll relief and 100 new public preschools will centre the state opposition’s budget reply speech, as the NSW treasurer, Matt Kean, continues selling his “reform” agendaahead the state’s March polling date.

Chris Minns, the NSW opposition leader, will on Thursday unveil a number of pledges but will stop short of presenting his entire pitch to the voting public, with his plans for home ownership remaining under wraps despite an earlier attack on the government’s planned stamp duty reform for first home buyers.

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Covid rapid antigen test supplier fined more than $100,000 by TGA for ‘non-compliance’

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Hough Pharma, which supplies home tests to Coles and Woolworths, allegedly failed to provide reports or appropriate customer support

A major supplier of Covid-19 rapid antigen tests to Coles and Woolworths has been fined $106,560 for allegedly failing to keep Australia’s drug regulator informed about the safety and performance of the tests.

Hough Pharma Pty Ltd was issued multiple infringement notices by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Thursday for what the agency described as “serial non-compliance” with regulatory requirements.

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Craig Kelly staffer Frank Zumbo told young female colleague ‘no man would love her more’, court hears

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Woman repeatedly told Zumbo she did not want physical contact with him, Sydney court told

A senior staff member of former MP Craig Kelly told a young woman that no man she could marry would ever love her more than he did, despite her telling him she had no romantic interest in him and repeatedly rebuffing his requests for physical contact, a Sydney court has heard.

Francesco “Frank” Zumbo, 55, is facing 20 charges, including sexual touching and indecent assault, linked to accusations by five women between 2014 and 2020.

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Public service shake-up continues with four new secretaries for government departments – as it happened

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Dominic Perrottet called on to halt Barilaro appointment pending inquiry; at least 63 Covid deaths recorded nationwide. This blog is now closed

NSW teacher strike ‘about politics, not pay’, Kean says

Matt Kean has hit out at plans by public and Catholic school teachers to strike next Friday after receiving a 3% pay rise offer, well below the rate of inflation.

Our 3% pay increase is far more than the Labor government’s 1.5% pay increase for public servants down in Victoria.

So the same unions complaining about our generous pay rise up here in NSW and protesting aren’t marching in the streets down in Victoria.

A senior woman, a senior public servant with knowledge of financial markets and trade particularly with the United States was offered the job, it was rescinded by the New South Wales government.

We don’t know by whom. And then John Barilaro mysteriously was given it just last week.

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Public servant who reported to John Barilaro was on interview panel for lucrative New York trade job

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Exclusive: Investment NSW chief executive did not have ‘conflict of interest’, agency says after former deputy premier’s appointment to $500,000-a-year role

A senior public servant who reported directly to John Barilaro before his resignation from parliament was on the interview panel who gave the former deputy New South Wales premier a $500,000-a-year trade commissioner job, but the agency involved says there was no conflict of interest.

Amy Brown, the chief executive of Investment NSW, was one of four bureaucrats who interviewed Barilaro for the New York-based trade commissioner job.

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NSW to give prisoners cold-case playing cards in hope of solving murders

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Packs contain 52 photos of dead and missing people in initiative backed by victims’ families

Packs of playing cards featuring cold-case murder victims and missing people will be distributed to New South Wales inmates in the hope of solving serious crimes.

The cards, which were produced by prisoners working in Corrective Services Industries, feature photographs and information about 52 unsolved homicide cases or suspicious disappearances.

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