Category Archives: Australia news

Government urged to allow Asic to decide claims against itself after investors left in limbo

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Former speaker says treasurer Josh Frydenberg should authorise corporate regulator to decide claims under compensation scheme for defective administration

The former speaker Tony Smith has urged Josh Frydenberg to allow the corporate regulator to decide claims against itself, after investors had no one to resolve their bid for compensation over a failed retirement village empire.

Smith, acting in his capacity as chair of a parliamentary committee with oversight of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic), also criticised Treasury’s position that the treasurer could not decide claims against Asic under a government program known as the scheme for compensation for detriment caused by defective administration (CDDA).

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British-born man dies after being caught in New South Wales floods

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Tony Ikin, a dog breeder, had been travelling to Royal Easter Show when his car was submerged at Cobbity

A UK-born man has died after being caught in flood water on the outskirts of Sydney.

The body of the 68-year-old was found in his van on Friday morning at Cobbity about 43 miles south-west of Sydney’s central business district, New South Wales police said in a statement.

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Australia live news updates: Scott Morrison takes credit for saving 40,000 lives from Covid in social media video; NSW records 10 Covid deaths, Vic seven and Qld two

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Scott Morrison takes credit for saving 40,000 lives from Covid in social media video; prime minister expected to call federal election this weekend; hundreds of NSW residents still under evacuation orders; NSW records 10 Covid deaths; seven Covid deaths in Victoria; Queensland reports two virus deaths; police officer and driver killed in Victoria crash. This blog is now closed

Exclusive: Schools chaplaincy provider bans cohabitation and ‘sexually intrusive’ behaviour in staff’s private life

In the space of an hour on Thursday night, two Queensland Liberal National stalwarts made announcements that shook the party from the right, and then the left.

First, George Christensen announced he had formally left the LNP – ending a political farce that has seen the retiring federal MP for Dawson slide deeper into far-rightwing anti-government conspiracy, all the while remaining a member of the government.

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Scott Morrison takes credit for saving 40,000 lives from Covid in social media pitch for re-election

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Anthony Albanese says Labor the underdog and prime minister treating the election as a ‘game’

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has taken the credit for saving the lives of 40,000 Australians from Covid-19 in a social media pitch for re-election.

Morrison on Saturday released an atmospheric video titled “Scott Morrison: Why I love Australia”, attempting to cast himself as a safe pair of hands in uncertain times. He is expected to call the federal election on on Sunday.

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Sydney airport warns delays could last weeks on third day of travel chaos

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Qantas apologises to family who missed international trip because of domestic flight delays

Long queues at Sydney airport’s domestic terminals have continued for a third day, with some passengers missing international connections, as the airport warns delays resulting from a surge in travellers and a shortfall in security staff could continue for weeks.

Chaotic scenes were reported in the departure halls as early as 4.30am on Saturday, with some frustrated travellers, many of whom heeded the pleas of airport chiefs to arrive at least two hours before their domestic flight was due to take off, claiming only one security line was operating.

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Hillsong founder Brian Houston says megachurch ‘losing its soul’ after it makes his wife redundant

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Houston, who resigned as global senior pastor last month, attacks church he founded in online post

The founder of Hillsong, Brian Houston, has accused the megachurch of “losing its soul” and says his wife has been made redundant by the church’s board “through no choice of her own”.

Houston resigned last month from the megachurch he founded in Sydney two decades ago after internal investigations found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct of “serious concern” with two women.

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Schools chaplaincy provider bans cohabitation and ‘sexually intrusive’ behaviour in staff’s private life

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Exclusive: whistleblower says code of Schools Ministry Group, Australia’s second biggest provider, could discriminate against workers

Australia’s second biggest schools chaplaincy provider imposes a code that discriminates against staff based on relationship status and sexual conduct, a whistleblower has alleged.

Caragh Larsen, a former Schools Ministry Group chaplain at two Adelaide public primary schools, said the code banning “cohabitation” and “sexually intrusive” behaviour left unmarried and LGBTQ+ staff vulnerable.

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Sam Kerr caps stunning injury-time turnaround as Matildas leave it late to beat New Zealand

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  • Australia strike on 94 and 96 minutes to win 2-1 in Townsville
  • Anna Green wonder strike puts visitors ahead in first half

Emily van Egmond and Sam Kerr struck in added time to lift the Matildas to a 2-1 friendly win over trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in Townsville.

The Matildas were heading for their first loss to the Football Ferns since 1994 on Friday night, trailing 1-0 at the end of the regulation 90 minutes despite dominating the contest.

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High court win on NSW preselections clears way for Morrison to call election

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PM expected to visit governor general this weekend to trigger mid-May election after court refused to hear appeal against ‘captain’s picks’

The high court has cleared the decks for Scott Morrison to call the federal election by refusing to hear a last-ditch appeal against the prime minister’s contentious captain’s picks in key New South Wales seats.

The court on Friday refused businessman Matthew Camenzuli’s application for special leave to appeal against the NSW court of appeal’s decision upholding the controversial preselections. Chief justice Susan Kiefel said the appeal had “insufficient prospects of success”.

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NSW lawyer given suspended jail term for working without a practising certificate

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Judge describes Michael Rollinson’s conduct as a ‘breathtaking and flagrant disregard’ for the court’s authority

A New South Wales barrister who continued to work as a lawyer despite not having a practising certificate – including in a case before the high court – has been sentenced to a suspended jail term.

Michael Rollinson pleaded guilty to three counts of contempt in the NSW supreme court last month. In orders released by the court on Friday, NSW supreme court Justice Robert Beech-Jones described his conduct as “breathtaking”.

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Time for a change? Cost of producing some Australian coins to outstrip face value

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Prices of copper and nickel, used to make silver coins, have soared due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Soaring metal prices mean it will cost more than the face value of the coins to make five cent, 10 cent and 20 cent pieces, according to new research.

Prices of the two key metals in Australia’s silver coins, nickel and copper, have skyrocketed this year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the price of nickel spiking 250% on the London Metals Exchange last month to more than US$100,000 a tonne.

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WA Aboriginal site near Rio Tinto mine more than 50,000 years old, new study reveals

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Mining giant funded latest excavation at Yirra, which yielded stone tools, charcoal and bone showing habitation during the last ice age

An Aboriginal sacred place located 65 metres from a land bridge used by Rio Tinto to haul iron ore is at least 50,000 years old, with new research finding evidence of occupation during the height of the last ice age.

The mining giant, which funded the latest excavation, has promised to ensure the site “is preserved for future generations”.

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Craig Kelly egged in Melbourne; Ukraine ambassador flags need for more support – as it happened

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Ukraine ambassador flags need for further support from Australia; RBA says potential rate rises to hit borrowers’ repayments; PM says election call ‘won’t be very long from now’; Russia bans 228 Australian officials; NSW records first ‘Deltacron’ cases as nation records at least 30 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Australian Border Force officials searched 822 travellers’ mobile phones in 2021, despite admitting it has no power to force arrivals to give them the passcode to their devices.

In January, Sydney software developer James told Guardian Australia that he and his partner were stopped on their return from Fiji by border force officials who asked them to write their phone passcodes on a piece of paper before taking the codes and their phones to another room to examine for half an hour. The phones were then returned and they were allowed to leave.

It will be a big win for the Ukrainian forces in their attempts to stare down the barbaric efforts of the Russian forces.

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Dozens of evacuation orders in place across NSW as rivers expected to reach major flood levels

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Schools closed and residents ordered to leave as torrential rain falls on Sydney and already saturated catchments

Dozens of evacuation orders have been issued for parts of south-west Sydney with the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers expected to reach major flood levels on Friday.

Water levels at the Upper Nepean River at Wallacia were tipped to exceed last month’s flood peak, while the Hawkesbury at North Richmond was expected to reach 10.5 metres by 10am, and as high as 11.8 metres at noon – just below the level seen in the devastating floods in February 2020.

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Caroline Kennedy praises Australia’s bipartisan foreign policy despite PM’s claims on Labor and China

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Nominee as US ambassador says there’s a lot more to the Aukus deal than just submarines as she faces US Senate foreign relations committee hearing

Caroline Kennedy, the nominee for US ambassador to Australia, has said the Aukus security deal will provide “a lot of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific even before the nuclear-powered submarines are ready.

With Australia set to enter a federal election campaign within days, Kennedy praised the country for standing firm with “a bipartisan foreign policy” in the face of “Chinese economic coercion”.

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Zachary Rolfe’s ex-fiancee told detectives he spoke of getting paid holiday if he shot someone, court documents show

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Police officer denies making comments, which are alleged in an interview and statement released by Northern Territory supreme court

Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe spoke repeatedly about how he could take a paid holiday if he shot someone while on duty, his former fiancee told detectives, according to a transcript of a police interview and a statement released by the NT supreme court.

In the wide-ranging interview the woman also said Rolfe told her at different times that he was the first to get his gun out on jobs, and did not turn on his body-worn camera as he did not want people at the police station to see what he was doing.

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Former judge’s associate says she was forced out of job after relationship with Tasmanian judge revealed

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Woman’s lawyer says she suffered ‘punitive sanctions without any fair process’ to deal with conflict of interest in court workplace

A former supreme court associate who says she was forced out of her job after it was revealed she was in a sexual relationship with a Tasmanian judge has lodged a complaint with the state’s equal opportunity commission.

Sarah Gregory was photographed embracing her partner, Justice Gregory Geason, in a Hobart nightclub last year.

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Australian Border Force searched 822 phones in 2021 despite having no power to demand passcodes

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Greens digital rights spokesperson says officers should be required to get a warrant before going through travellers’ mobile phones

Australian Border Force officials searched 822 travellers’ mobile phones in 2021, despite admitting it has no power to force arrivals to give them the passcode to their devices.

In January, Sydney software developer James told Guardian Australia that he and his partner were stopped on their return from Fiji by border force officials who asked them to write their phone passcodes on a piece of paper before taking the codes and their phones to another room to examine for half an hour. The phones were then returned and they were allowed to leave.

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Craig Kelly billed taxpayers to fly to Melbourne anti-lockdown rallies

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UAP leader defends the travel expenses, saying his activities at the protests were parliamentary business

Craig Kelly is being investigated for billing taxpayers to fly to anti-vaccine mandate, anti-lockdown rallies in Melbourne, internal records show.

Kelly, the leader of the United Australia party, charged taxpayers for his flights to and from Melbourne for two rallies in November and December last year, which were organised chiefly as protests against Victoria’s pandemic powers and the Victorian premier, Dan Andrews.

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Australia news live updates: NSW flood evacuation orders; asylum seekers to be released from detention; 30 Covid deaths

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Seventeen asylum seekers expected to be released from detention; flood evacuation orders in NSW; Marise Payne meeting Nato members to discuss Ukraine; NSW records 16 Covid deaths and 22,255 new infections; Victoria records four deaths and 12,314 new infections; WA records 7,998 new infections and three deaths over past weeks; Queensland records seven deaths and 10,984 new cases. Follow all the day’s news live

The man seeking a high court challenge against federal intervention in NSW Liberal preselections has been expelled from the party.

In an escalation of the factional stoush, Matthew Camenzuli has asked the high court to prevent Scott Morrison’s hand-picked candidates from receiving Liberal endorsement on ballot papers pending the urgent case.

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