Category Archives: Australia news

ALP national conference 2021: Anthony Albanese to announce $15bn Covid recovery fund – live

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Australian Labor party gathers online to endorse slimmed-down election platform and debate industrial relations, trade and foreign affairs. Follow all the latest updates, live

Delegate Nizza Siano has put forward this one:

Labor’s policy should be framed to provide a positive and compassionate approach by a Labor Government to the treatment of refugees, rather than a reaction to the punitive and cruel approach of the Coalition Government. Refugees and those seeking asylum in Australia are to be welcomed under a Labor Government as assets who enhance this nation and our economy and provide positive contribution to our strong multicultural society.

In this chapter, Michael Danby will move this motion:

Labor calls on China to abide by its own constitution and laws which expressly allows for the cultural autonomy of the Tibetan people within the People’s Republic.

Tibetans must be allowed, as they are under Chinese law, to freely practice their religion, to learn and speak their language and to have official documents in the language of the vast majority of people living in the Tibetan autonomous zone.

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‘A lot of noise, a lot of joy’: Sydney sea shanty club singers raise the roof in raucous reunion

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Redfern bar shakes like the hull of a ship as devoted community comes back together after year apart

Over the past year, various members of the Redfern Shanty Club found different ways to cope. Robert Boddington, with his thespian’s voice and easy stage patter, gathered a few friends and tried to sing in public places, “just turning up in the dead of night and quietly singing away”. Robin Howard says he got “the shakes”. Emma Norton, a train driver with a soaring Celtic voice, says: “I sang to myself a lot, I guess.”

On Monday night, as restrictions in Sydney were almost completely lifted – with relaxed caps on capacity in bars, and no limits on singing – this devoted and joyous community finally returned to their favourite weekly ritual.

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Besieged MP Andrew Laming says his behaviour has been ‘reinvented into harassment’

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Queensland Liberal defends ‘completely dignified’ photo of woman bending over but apologises for ‘feelings I’ve caused’

Under-seige Morrison government MP Andrew Laming says his online behaviour has been “re-invented into harassment” and that the “facts are on my side”, claiming he only ever asked “hard questions” but apologised “for how it’s made people feel”.

The Queensland MP, who asked for privacy as he takes a month’s paid leave as he undertakes “clinical counselling”, and courses in “empathy and appropriate communication”, has explained his side of the story in a 16-minute interview with his local radio station. Laming has said he will not stand at the next election, but said he had no plans to leave the parliament until his term was completed.

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Queensland Covid: states slam borders shut as Brisbane enters snap three-day lockdown

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Two women who travelled to Byron Bay in NSW while infectious are among the four new local cases of the UK variant of coronavirus

A number of states have slammed their borders shut to Queenslanders as greater Brisbane enters a snap three-day snap lockdown after authorities discovered four new locally-acquired coronavirus cases.

Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, on Monday described the growing cluster of seven cases as “significant community transmission” of the UK variant. She warned people in greater Brisbane to stay home over the coming days.

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Schitt’s Creek motel for sale – minus the ‘Rosebud’ sign

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First the Rose family’s former mansion hit the real estate lists – now it’s the 10-room motel they called home

The motel home of the Rose family in the Emmy-sweeping Canadian TV series Schitt’s Creek is up for sale for C$2m.

The Hockley Motel in the Canadian town of Mono, Ontario, was a key filming location throughout the six seasons of the hit CBC sitcom.

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Australia news live: premier announces three-day lockdown for Brisbane as Queensland records more Covid cases

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State reports four new local cases; Nationals MP Anne Webster lodges complaint over alleged sexual harassment in parliament. Follow the latest updates
• Queensland Covid hotspots
• Queensland authorities contradict earlier advice about Covid case hosting ‘party’
• Coalition women call for MP drug and alcohol testing in response to sexual misconduct crisis

The Victorian state government won’t release a three-page email chain in which a decision to put Melbourne under a coronavirus curfew was made, reports Karen Sweeney from AAP.

Victorian opposition MP David Davis requested all documents relating to the curfew to be released under Freedom of Information.

These are the documents that relate directly to the decision to put Melbourne under a curfew and the reality, in our view, is there is little reason the documents should not be in the public domain.

We have one document - it is three pages of an email chain containing legal advice.

It is a single document - it may just be a single decision has to be made by the tribunal...

It’s just hard to see why this has been strung out for so long.

It’s worth considering how soon this lockdown is coming after the end of jobkeeper and how close it is cutting it to the start of the federal government’s half-priced plane ticket program.

Jobkeeper ended on Sunday, and the tourism sector support program is slated to start on 1 April.

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Andrew Laming to quit politics at next federal election over ‘appalling’ behaviour towards women

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Queensland MP allegedly took a photo on his mobile phone of a young woman’s bottom when visiting a Brisbane business in 2019

Federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming has pleaded for privacy after announcing he will not recontest the next election, saying he will seek immediate help to improve his behaviour.

Following a series of reports about Laming’s poor behaviour towards women, including an incident where he allegedly photographed a woman’s bottom, the Queensland MP said he would “own those mistakes” and quit parliament.

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NSW floods: evacuated Sydney residents told to stay away as water recedes and cleanup begins

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Seven townships around Hawkesbury River remain evacuated as SES warns flood water can contain sewage, debris and dead animals
• How to avoid getting trapped in a submerged car during floods

Evacuation orders remain in place for seven north-west Sydney towns impacted by last week’s flooding as New South Wales’s cleanup effort begins in earnest.

The State Emergency Service said evacuated residents of Pitt Town North, Pitt Town Bottoms, Cornwallis, North Richmond, Agnes Banks, Gronos Point and Freemans Reach should not return until authorities give the all-clear.

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ABC checking on presenter’s wellbeing after expletives shouted during Adelaide news bulletin

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Radio presenter shouted multiple expletives and appeared to be ad-libbing bulletin before being taken off air

An ABC radio presenter shouted an expletive twice during a late-night news broadcast in Adelaide before being abruptly taken off the air.

The national broadcaster has said it is investigating the incident and making sure the staff member is OK.

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Race to contain Brisbane Covid outbreak as cluster grows to three

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Queensland police contradict earlier reports from health authorities that man hosted a party for 25 guests after being told to self-isolate

Health authorities in Queensland are scrambling to track down contacts of two Brisbane friends who tested positive for coronavirus, amid fresh concerns about the outbreak growing.

Queensland Health said on Saturday night one of the men, aged 26, held a house party in Strathpine while he was waiting on his test result, despite instructions to self-isolate. But on Sunday morning, Queensland police contradicted that advice and said only five people had been directed to quarantine.

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Coercion or altruism: is China using its Covid vaccines to wield global power?

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Beijing has donated millions of vaccines to developing countries but its largesse often comes with conditions attached

In May 2020, China’s president, Xi Jinping, told the World Health Assembly its Covid-19 vaccines were “a global public good”, and their distribution would be part of Xi’s vision of a “shared future for the people of the world to work as one”.

But in the months since, China’s alleged “vaccine diplomacy” has been consistently criticised internationally for being rolled out with conditions attached, with allegations of expatriate Chinese nationals being prioritised, and the distribution of vaccines seen as a coercive tool with which to wield geopolitical influence.

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Queensland Covid hotspots: list of Brisbane and regional Qld coronavirus case locations

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Here are the current coronavirus hotspots and case locations in Queensland and what to do if you’ve visited them

Queensland authorities have released a list of hotspots where Covid-positive people have visited while infectious.

Any individuals who have been in the below locations during the relevant times are considered close contacts and asked to immediately home quarantine (for 14 days), even if you receive a negative result, and complete the contact-tracing self-assessment or call 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84):

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Australia threatens to take China to WTO and backs Boris Johnson’s stance on Uighur abuses

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Scott Morrison says China’s 116.2% to 218.4% levies on Australia’s wine imports are ‘retaliation’

Australia’s trade minister threatened to take China to the World Trade Organization on Saturday over its “unjustifiable” decision to increase duties on Australian wine imports for up to five years.

Related: Australia and New Zealand welcome sanctions on China over Uighur abuses but impose none of their own

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David Littleproud on getting farmers on board with the climate flight – Australian politics podcast

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Katharine Murphy sits down with the Nationals’ deputy leader, David Littleproud, to discuss the party’s stance on reducing carbon emissions. They discuss how communities in regional areas want to see progress in tackling climate change, and whether the party is ready to address the facts or continue its turbulent stance

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Tasmania election 2021: Peter Gutwein sends state to early poll

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Premier Peter Gutwein announces election will be held a year early, a month before opposition leader is due to give birth

Tasmania will head to the polls for an early election after its Liberal government was plunged into minority.

Premier Peter Gutwein has announced the election, which was not due until May 2022, will be held on 1 May.

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Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds to retain ‘very important’ roles in cabinet, Scott Morrison says

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The prime minister also reveals the Brittany Higgins rape allegation has ‘taken me deeper into this issue than I have appreciated before’

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has insisted Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds will continue to play an “important role” in his cabinet and declared he would not “condone” any negative briefing against Brittany Higgins.

Morrison confirmed on Thursday evening there would be a process for establishing whether members of his media team had briefed against Higgins – the former Liberal staffer who triggered the Australian parliament’s #MeToo moment by going public with her allegation of rape by a colleague.

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Australians could be charged for exporting energy from rooftop solar panels to the grid

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Proposed changes to the national energy market rules aims to prevent ‘traffic jams’ of electricity on sunny days

Australian households with rooftop solar panels could be charged for exporting electricity into the power grid at times when it is not needed under proposed changes to the national electricity market.

The recommendation is included in a draft deliberation by the Australian Energy Market Commission that is designed to prevent “traffic jams” of electricity at sunny times that could destabilise the network.

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Australia news live: Scott Morrison apologises over ‘insensitive’ harassment claim; rain eases

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PM issues Facebook statement saying he ‘deeply regrets’ raising a sexual harassment claim in response to question from journalist; forecast improves on east coast but flood waters still pose risk. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

The bells have rung for the House sitting - but day three of estimates is upon us as well.

The Treasury secretary is up from nowish, if you want to tune in

The two News Corp major city tabloids have made their displeasure with Scott Morrison for attacking a Sky News journalist during his press conference yesterday abundantly clear this morning.

Despite the mea culpa from the PM late yesterday the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph carry very negative front pages and unflattering mocking headlines: “Sco-woe” and “Sco-D’oh”

FRONT PAGE
Read today's paper: https://t.co/H9DzehmZVI#sydney #NSW #newspaper #frontpage #news pic.twitter.com/yvYOq7zDdA

TODAY'S FRONT PAGE.
Wednesday March 24
Read the digital edition in our app or online > https://t.co/qEcoijKR39
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.#Melbourne #Victoria #FrontPage #newspaper #news pic.twitter.com/QnX389rBM0

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Animal rescue: Gookie the emu gets boat ride to safety from NSW flood waters

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Distressed domestic animals and wildlife, from greyhounds to kangaroos, have been moved to safety during the floods disaster

Paul Zammit’s dinghy became a Noah’s Ark of sorts during the New South Wales floods disaster.

He carried his pet emu, Gookie, to safety – Bodyguard-style – on Tuesday morning.

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Rio Tinto pledges to protect cultural heritage after Juukan Gorge disaster

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Chief executive Jakob Stausholm says he will make heritage protection be ‘felt in the hearts and minds’ of his employees

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has pledged to make protecting cultural heritage an issue which is “felt in the hearts and minds” of his employees in an effort to avoid another Juukan Gorge-style disaster.

The mining company on Tuesday announced it would publicly report to investors on its progress on improving cultural heritage systems and renewing trust with traditional owners, as it attempts to rebuild its shattered social capital.

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