Category Archives: Australia news

Aukus vital to ‘deter Chinese aggression’, say US lawmakers, as Trump urged to recommit to submarine deal

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Alliance in best interests of Australia, UK and US, say lawmakers, after Trump administration announced 30-day review of pact

The Aukus pact is vital to “deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region”, Republican and Democrat lawmakers in the US have told the Pentagon, urging the US to recommit to the nuclear submarine deal with Australia and the UK.

The Trump administration announced this month it would undertake a 30-day review of the Aukus agreement – the deal struck in 2021 that would see US nuclear submarines sold to Australia, and new-design nuclear-powered Aukus submarines built in the UK and Australia.

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Australian passenger disruption as airlines delay or cancel flights after Iran’s attack on US base in Qatar

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Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said there had been ‘disruptions to flights with temporary airspace closures in the region’

The Albanese government and airlines are warning passengers in Australia of flight delays and disruptions after Iran’s strike on a US base in Qatar resulted in several countries closing their airspace.

In a post to X on Tuesday morning, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said there had been “disruptions to flights with temporary airspace closures in the region”.

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Queensland budget 2025: Crisafulli vows no austerity despite state facing $218bn debt

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Premier says you can ‘respect people’s money’ and still lift public services as LNP hands down first budget since 2014

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has promised no austerity in his first budget, despite the state facing a forecast $218bn in debt.

Tuesday’s state budget will be the Liberal National party’s first since 2014. Then led by premier Campbell Newman, the LNP lost government in 2015 after slashing tens of thousands of public service positions and proposing the sell-off of public assets to balance the books.

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NSW upper house president seeks advice from Bret Walker over possible political staffer arrests

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High-profile barrister consulted over arrest warrants for five government staffers who did not attend inquiry into Dural ‘fake terrorism plot’

The president of the New South Wales upper house has sought advice from high-profile barrister Bret Walker SC over whether he can seek arrest warrants for government staffers who failed to give evidence to an inquiry examining the Sydney caravan “fake terrorism plot”, Guardian Australia understands.

Ben Franklin is expected to reveal on Tuesday whether he intends to seek arrest warrants from the NSW supreme court for five staffers who were summoned to appear before the inquiry on Friday, but did not attend. Three are from the office of the premier, Chris Minns, and two work for the police minister, Yasmin Catley.

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Plutonium levels at nuclear test site in WA up to 4,500 times higher than rest of coast, study finds

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Researchers say contamination found at Montebello Islands is part of fallout from 1950s British tests and will persist for thousands of years

Samples of marine sediment taken from the location of three 1950s British government nuclear bomb tests off the coast of Western Australia have revealed plutonium levels up to 4,500 times higher than the rest of the coastline.

Sixty six samples were taken from the shallow waters at the Montebello Islands, and scientists are now working to understand how marine life may be being affected by the sediment.

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Governments are leaving ‘heavy lifting’ on Closing the Gap to underresourced Aboriginal groups, review finds

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‘Inaction’ from governments and ‘baked in’ racism are hampering efforts to address entrenched disadvantage, according to first independent review

Australian governments are failing to do “the heavy lifting” needed to address entrenched disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, an independent review of the national Closing the Gap strategy has found.

The review by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney is the first to independently assess the implementation of the Closing the Gap agreement since its establishment in 2008.

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Greens demand Labor reveal whether Pine Gap used in Iran strikes – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

‘We’re not just a vassal state’

Hastie says he would be reluctant to commit Australian troops to any conflict with Iran that the US elects to join, but said any decision about logistical support would be “a decision for the government”.

We need greater transparency. Secretary Hegseth appeared before the arms committee this week, last week, he talked about the Indo-Pacific and named communist China as the Pacific threat – his words and he talked about the US building up its forward posture in the Indo-Pacific. He spoke specifically of Australia, Japan and the Philippines. We’re very much part of the integrated deterrence that the US is building in the region.

We need greater transparency, to talk about operationalising the alliance, building guardrails for combat operations and defining our sovereignty. This will make things clearer for us, so we can better preserve our national interests. We’re not just a vassal state, we’re an ally, partner and it’s time we had a discussion about what that looks like.

One thing is clear. If you are Iran and you survive this conflict with your regime intact and a nuclear program intact, I think you will move at best speed to build a bomb, to put yourself in the strongest position the, in time this happens.

They will use it.

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Queensland MP calls for return of vagrancy laws to allow police to prosecute homeless people

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LNP member for Mermaid Beach says absence of legislative power to remove tents set up in his electorate is ‘unacceptable’

A Gold Coast Liberal National party MP has called for the return of vagrancy laws to allow police to prosecute homeless people amid an ongoing crackdown on tent cities in Queensland.

Ray Stevens, the member for Mermaid Beach, made the call in a speech to parliament last week.

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Federal Labor ministers at odds over contentious NT gas pipeline decision, internal document shows

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Exclusive: Agriculture minister Julie Collins and Indigenous affairs minister Malarndirri McCarthy expressed concern over Sturt Plateau pipeline’s construction

Senior Albanese government ministers disagreed over whether a controversial Northern Territory gas pipeline should be allowed to go ahead without being fully assessed under national environment laws, an internal document shows.

An environment department brief from February shows representatives for the agriculture minister, Julie Collins, and the Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, were concerned about the impact of the Sturt Plateau pipeline’s construction on threatened species and First Nations communities.

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‘Friends stared at me dumbfounded’: Guardian Australia staff share their most traumatic haircuts. What was yours?

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A viral video of a barbershop blow-up prompts tales of shear panic. Tell us about your worst haircut experience in the comments

A tradie went viral this week after blowing up at a barber who he claimed left him with a lopsided buzz cut.

The tradesman insisted on paying for the allegedly substandard haircut before storming out. The exchange has sparked a conversation online, with some saying they would never be brave enough to complain and others recounting their worst haircut experiences.

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Australians can look forward to a bigger nest egg as super guarantee rises to 12%

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The last in a series of increases to employers’ minimum contribution from 9% over more than a decade will come into effect on 1 July

Australian workers can look forward to a bigger nest egg, with an increase to the superannuation guarantee to add tens of thousands of dollars to the average super account.

From 1 July, employers’ minimum required contribution to employees’ superannuation accounts will rise from 11.5% to 12%.

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Psychiatrist body holds firm on 25% pay bid but NSW Health says shortages are ‘more nuanced’

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Both parties have made closing submissions in their wage dispute before the NSW industrial relations tribunal

Closing submissions have been heard in the long-running dispute between psychiatrists – who are pushing for a 25% pay increase – and the New South Wales department of health, bringing to a close a landmark legal action brought by the psychiatrists, who argue psychiatric care in NSW is facing “collapse” because of poor pay and conditions.

Over two days this week, the Industrial Relations Commission court in Sydney heard closing submissions from lawyers, before the full bench retired to consider their decision.

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‘Legacy-making’ Sydney metro stations take out top prize in NSW Architecture awards

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‘Transformative’ project wins the 2025 architecture medallion as town centres, industrial restorations and residential homes collect other awards of note

Sydney’s recently opened network of city metro stations have taken out one of the top prizes at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2025 NSW Architecture awards, announced on Friday night.

Dozens of Australian architecture firms, engineering companies, landscape designers and public art experts shared in the 2025 NSW architecture medallion for their work on the Central, Barangaroo, Gadigal, Victoria Cross, Martin Place, Waterloo, Sydenham and Crows Nest stations in what the judges hailed as a “legacy-making” and “city-shaping” cross-sector collaboration.

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NSW political staffers could be arrested after failing to appear at Dural caravan inquiry

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Committee seeking warrants for staff from premier and police minister’s offices, but they insist they had ‘reasonable excuse or just cause’ not to attend

A parliamentary committee is seeking warrants for the arrest of five New South Wales government staffers who failed to appear and give evidence to an inquiry examining the Sydney caravan “fake terrorism plot”.

The staffers – three from the office of the premier, Chris Minns, and two who work for the police minister, Yasmin Catley – were summoned to appear before the inquiry on Friday.

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Former NSW MP Daryl Maguire found guilty of misleading corruption inquiry

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Ex-partner of former premier Gladys Berejiklian misled Icac probe over $48m property development, magistrate finds

Ex-Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has been found guilty of misleading a corruption probe about benefits expected from a $48m property development sale.

The former member for Wagga Wagga, whose clandestine relationship with ex-NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian led to her political downfall, appeared at Sydney’s Downing Centre Court for the verdict on Friday.

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Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s

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Operators of trial insist age assurance ‘can be done’ but preliminary report finds age verification tools ‘not guaranteed to be effective’

Technology to check a person’s age and ban under 16s from using social media is not “guaranteed to be effective” and face-scanning tools have given incorrect results, concede the operators of a Australian government trial of the scheme.

The tools being trialled – some involving artificial intelligence analysing voices and faces – would be improved through verification of identity documents or connection to digital wallets, those running the scheme have suggested.

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Victoria Liberals bail out John Pesutto with $1.5m loan to avoid bankruptcy

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Party approves last-minute loan to help former leader pay $2.3m defamation costs against Moira Deeming

The Victorian Liberal party will provide a $1.5m loan to former leader John Pesutto to ensure he can pay Moira Deeming’s legal fees and avoid bankruptcy.

The loan was debated by the 19-member administrative committee on Thursday night and ultimately endorsed after a secret ballot, which was proposed to limit any factional retribution within a deeply divided party.

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Guardian Australia’s In the Box investigation wins award at Walkley Foundation’s Mid-Year Media Prizes

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Ben Smee and Melissa Davey’s investigation uncovered stories of incarcerated children who were born with severe intellectual disabilities

A groundbreaking Guardian Australia investigation into incarcerated teenagers born with severe intellectual disabilities has been awarded the Media Diversity Australia prize at the Walkley Foundation’s Mid-Year Media Prizes.

In the box: how children with FASD end up in police cells, by Queensland correspondent Ben Smee and medical editor Melissa Davey, uncovered the stories of children who, branded repeat offenders, spend their days locked in adult watch houses despite living with the effects of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

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Protest at Sydney synagogue wasn’t targeting ‘religious event’ but Israel Defense Forces speaker, court told

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NSW Labor’s anti-protest laws protecting places of worship have ‘chilling effect’ on democracy, Palestine Action Group barrister tells supreme court

A protest outside a Sydney synagogue – which was the “catalyst” for the New South Wales government introducing anti-protest laws designed to curb antisemitism – was targeting an event where a member of the Israel Defense Forces was speaking, a court has been told during a constitutional challenge.

The Palestine Action Group is challenging in the NSW supreme court the Minns Labor government’s controversial laws giving police broad powers to restrict protests.

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