Category Archives: Australia news

Albanese declares Chinese-controlled Port of Darwin should ‘be in Australian hands’

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PM says two options on table: for an Australian-owned company to take control, or for port to return to being a government asset

The Labor government is on the hunt for a buyer for the port of Darwin despite the Chinese-owned company who holds the lease insisting it is not for sale.

Anthony Albanese revealed the plan after calling in to local Darwin radio on Friday afternoon in a deliberate attempt to get ahead of a similar announcement the Coalition made on Saturday.

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Man accused of Cassius Turvey murder ‘is lying through his teeth’, court told

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Jack Brearley says his co-accused delivered fatal blows to 15-year-old but his version is challenged under cross-examination

A man accused of murder who blamed his co-accused for the death of Indigenous teenager Cassius Turvey has had his version of events challenged while giving evidence in his defence.

During testimony on Thursday at the West Australian supreme court, Jack Brearley, 24, told a jury that prosecutors had it wrong and he did not strike the 15-year-old in the head with a metal pole in Perth’s eastern suburbs on 13 October 2022.

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MCG admits ‘breakdown’ in security after guns allegedly smuggled into game

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Men arrested at Melbourne sporting venue allegedly carrying loaded firearms after passing through upgraded security

The MCG has blamed a “breakdown in the thoroughness” of security screening procedures after two men allegedly carrying loaded firearms were able to access a blockbuster match between Collingwood and Carlton.

Police alleged the weapons were found after a search by officers at the ground, as a crowd of 82,058 fans watched the Magpies defeat their arch-rivals on Thursday night.

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Environment watchdog confirms Sydney’s mystery beach balls likely came from sewage treatment plants

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NSW EPA investigation finds debris that washed up on Sydney beaches in 2024 ‘consistent with a land-based sewage source’

Authorities investigating mystery balls of debris that closed beaches in Sydney and the south coast in recent months have determined that they likely originated from Sydney Water’s land-based sewage treatment network, the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said on Friday.

“The development comes after a comprehensive scientific and technical investigation found similarities between the makeup of the debris balls and samples taken from several of Sydney Water’s major wastewater treatment plants, including those at Malabar and Bondi,” the EPA said in a statement.

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Tony Mokbel freed on bail by Victorian court after ‘Lawyer X’ scandal

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Court of appeal rules Mokbel to be released, saying there is a ‘strong chance’ his convictions will be quashed

The organised crime figure Tony Mokbel will be released on bail as a consequence of the “joint criminal enterprise” Victorian police entered with Lawyer X, Nicola Gobbo, a court has found.

The Victorian court of appeal ruled on Friday that Mokbel should be released and that there was a “very strong” chance his remaining convictions would be quashed.

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Tasmania’s Dark Mofo is back with a bang – and a car crash: festival announces 2025 program

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After a year off, the often controversial art festival returns, having signed a new three-year funding deal with the state government

A two-hour performance work involving an artist and a stunt driver culminating in a head-on car crash, a man being crushed by sand in a giant hourglass, and an open invitation to scream, are among some of the artworks heading to Tasmania’s Dark Mofo festival, which is back this winter after taking a fallow year.

The annual art festival, created by David Walsh’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) and well known for its often controversial, confronting and humorous spirit, was called off last year so organisers could take stock of “changing conditions and rising costs” to ensure its future. Many festivals around Australia have been cancelled in the last two years, including Dark Mofo’s summer equivalent, Mona Foma, which finished in 2024 after 16 years.

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RPA hospital closes HIV psychiatry clinic with 200 patients after staff resignations

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Exclusive: Former staff tell Guardian Australia some HIV patients have since required acute mental health care, as hospital also loses specialist pain and eating disorder support staff

The resignation of psychiatrists from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital has led to the closure of an HIV psychiatry clinic with 200 patients, as well as a loss of specialist psychiatrist services for patients in the pain clinic and the most unwell eating disorder patients.

Minutes from a Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) and Balmain hospital medical staff council on 10 February, seen by Guardian Australia, also contain slides from a presentation about psychiatrist resignations that state “there is no HIV psychiatry clinic”.

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‘Game on’: Kim Williams has ‘no doubt’ a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC

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ABC chair backs public broadcaster after Peter Dutton’s comments warning it would need to demonstrate ‘excellence’

The chair of Australia’s public broadcaster says he has “no doubt” a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, but that the organisation has nothing to apologise for in its quest for “excellence” and “efficiency”.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt within the event of Mr [Peter] Dutton acceding to office that there would be a very early call for an efficiency and, apparently, an excellency review for what the ABC does. Game on,” Kim Williams said during a speech at the Melbourne Press Club on Thursday.

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Brisbane woman charged with murder after allegedly giving terminally ill partner lethal dose of pain medication

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Police say David Mobbs was in ‘last stages of his life’ with motor neurone disease and had been in and out of hospital before his death

A pensioner has been charged with murder after being accused of administering a lethal dose of prescription medication to her terminally ill partner.

Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 50, was arrested more than a year after the death of David Ronald Mobbs, 56, at Alexandra Hills, in Brisbane’s south-east, in December 2023.

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Australia election 2025 live: PM dines with Greg Norman as nation braces for Trump tariffs; Howard says Coalition are election underdogs

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Golfer has been used before as a diplomatic bridge to US president. Follow today’s news live

Peter Dutton is in Western Australia for his first visit to the mining state of this campaign, and has come bearing a $600m announcement for roads which are critical to mining and agriculture.

He will spend the day in WA and Perth, before it’s expected he’ll return to the east coast late tonight or early tomorrow.

All candidates were made aware that if they were not coming tonight then they would be represented by an empty chair. This notice was given in advance.

The Liberals have failed to announce a 2030 or 2035 emissions target, committing only to net zero by 2050. The fate of the climate will be determined by cumulative emissions, so this lack of short or medium term targets is deeply problematic.

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Newborns treated with antibiotics respond less well to vaccines, study shows

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An Australian study found that babies with early exposure to antibiotics had lower levels of antibodies against jabs in later infancy

Babies who are treated with antibiotics as newborns have reduced immune responses to vaccines in later infancy, likely due to changes in the gut microbiome, new research suggests.

The Australian study tracked 191 healthy babies from birth, finding that those who received antibiotics in the first few weeks of life had significantly lower levels of antibodies against multiple vaccines at seven and 15 months.

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‘Proud to’: Liberal MP spruiks tougher gambling proposal, but says Coalition plans good ‘first step’

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Exclusive: Keith Wolahan launched ads supporting stronger stance two days after federal election called, but also says Coalition policy important ‘first step’

A Liberal moderate who was part of a bipartisan parliamentary committee that urged the federal government to adopt a total ban on gambling advertising has paid for campaign material, stating he was “proud to” do so, inadvertently highlighting different policy positions within the Coalition.

The Coalition has resisted calls from advocates to take a policy to the election that would ban gambling advertising outright, instead pledging to ban “gambling ads one hour before, during and one hour after live sports broadcasts”.

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Major staff cuts on table at Victorian magistrates court, threatening Allan government’s crime crackdown

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Potential cuts expected to more than 25% of backroom staff, underlining challenge for state government crippled by debt but trying to bolster public safety

The Victorian magistrates court is considering cutting more than a quarter of its backroom staff despite its workload likely increasing as the Allan government presses ahead with “tough on crime” policies.

Leaked documents show it is proposed that 24 out of 92 staff from the courts’ corporate services department are made redundant, including those working in family violence and legal policy areas.

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‘Australia is a landlord’s market’: rents still at record high despite slow growth, report shows

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Kingsford Smith, Bradfield, Sydney, and Warringah in New South Wales and Fadden in Queensland are the five most expensive electorates, data shows

Rents are growing at the slowest rate in four years thanks in part to increased supply, but are still at record highs, Domain’s March Quarterly report has revealed.

It comes as Anglicare Australia launches a heat map showing rental affordability in each electorate, with Kingsford Smith, Bradfield, Sydney, and Warringah in New South Wales and Fadden in Queensland the five least-affordable electorates in the country.

7.7% in Darwin to $700 per week;

6.2% in Perth to $690 per week;

5.1% in Adelaide to $620 per week;

4.8% in Brisbane to $650 per week;

3.6% in Hobart to $570 per week;

3.35% in Sydney to $775 per week;

2.2% in Canberra to $700 per week; and

1.8% in Melbourne to $580 per week.

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Passengers hold on as driverless Metro train speeds through Sydney tunnel with an open door

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Rail union wants network temporarily shut down and an investigation into ‘one of the worst safety incidents we’ve seen’

Passengers held on to handrails after a door stayed open on a driverless Metro racing underneath Sydney, with a transport union later calling for the system to be shut down until safety measures were put in place.

A “door fault” was identified on a train travelling between Chatswood and Crows Nest stations at about 8.01am on Wednesday, the Metro Trains Sydney chief executive, Daniel Williams, said in a statement.

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Doctors in NSW public hospitals threaten three-day strike over pay dispute, defying ban

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State government warns industrial action could halt elective surgeries, as doctors seek pay rise of up to 30%

Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries.

Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred’s hospital.

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Queensland’s recovery to ‘take months and years’ after floods sweep across vast interior

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Bureau of Meteorology predicts flooding could continue for weeks as stock losses already estimated at over 150,000

Queensland’s premier has declared “day one” of a recovery that will take years as the state prepares to wake to clear skies that should reveal the vast scale of its outback floods.

But despite forecasts the rain will pass for soaked central and south-west Queensland by Thursday, towns and homesteads could be cut off or at risk of flooding for weeks to come, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s senior meteorologist, Dean Narramore.

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Australian police will testify at trial of US man linked to Wieambilla shootings

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Arizona allows testimony in the case of Donald Day who is accused of making threats to public figures and the FBI

Australian police officers have been given the green light to testify in the US trial of a man accused of links to the deadly Wieambilla shootings in rural Queensland.

The Queensland officers will be allowed to testify in an Arizona court but will have to stick to “neutral factual” accounts of the incident.

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Melissa Caddick’s duped investors recoup another $3.5m after settlement with auditors

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Investors defrauded by 49-year-old before her 2020 disappearance and death to get back portion of their $23m in losses

Investors defrauded by Melissa Caddick before her disappearance and death will recoup a portion of their $23m in losses after settling a class action lawsuit with her auditors.

Victims have already been repaid $7.25m after liquidators of the dead fraudster sold off her assets in 2023 and 2024.

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Unregistered Sydney practitioner ‘Injector Josh’ accused of administering Botox without qualifications

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NSW Health Care Complaints Commission is investigating the man, who has been the subject of multiple complaints

An unregistered Sydney beauty practitioner who advertises unauthorised Botox injections and “butt lifts” via Instagram and Snapchat is being investigated by New South Wales health authorities.

The man, who performs injectable and invasive cosmetic procedures, goes by the name Injector Josh and uses the social media handles faisalbasim7 and injectorjosh_. He has been the subject of multiple complaints, the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) said in a public health warning on Tuesday.

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