Category Archives: Australia news

Pocock says politicians using encrypted messaging apps damages ‘health of our democracy’

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Kevin Rudd once lobbied the Turnbull government for a UN position using encrypted app Wickr – and the messages could not be found

Independent senator David Pocock says the use of encrypted messaging platforms by politicians to avoid scrutiny is damaging to Australian democracy, urging the government to act on recommendations from the information commissioner and the National Archives that such messages should be retained.

In a report on Wednesday from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the National Archives, a survey of 22 government agencies found 16 allowed use of messaging apps, three did not allow their use, and three did not have a policy.

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Lehrmann inquiry head Walter Sofronoff engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’ , review finds

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Investigation by ACT integrity commission finds Sofronoff’s disclosure of confidential material to journalists amounted to corrupt conduct

The former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”, the ACT integrity commission has found, after reviewing his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.

The report marks the latest development after Brittany Higgins went public with allegations that Lehrmann had raped her in Parliament House. The alleged incident has spawned a series of investigations and protracted legal battles.

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Network Ten and Wilkinson ordered to pay own costs in Lehrmann defamation case – as it happened

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Growing inequality erodes social cohesion – Leigh

In his speech, Andrew Leigh will say growing inequality is an issue because it erodes social cohesion.

When wealth is concentrated among a few, society becomes fragmented. Our sense of collective responsibility diminishes, and the fabric that binds us as Australians weakens.

This approach contrasts with our predecessors, whose tax policies disproportionately benefited the highest earners, widening the gap between rich and poor. By maintaining a fair and responsible tax structure, we can fund essential public services while ensuring that the most fortunate Australians contribute their fair share.

Yet since the 1980s, Australia has seen what economists describe as a ‘Great Divergence’, reversing the gains of earlier decades.

Today, the top 1% of income earners receive nearly 10% of national income, nearly doubling their share from 40 years ago. Wealth inequality is even more extreme, with the richest 10% owning more than 60 times the wealth of the bottom 10%.

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‘Disgusting’ antisemitic tactics used to threaten exiled Hong Kong man in Adelaide, Jewish group says

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Exclusive: Ted Hui and Melbourne resident Kevin Yam are both subjects of anonymous letters and pamphlets mailed from Chinese-controlled territories

A prominent Jewish group has condemned a “disgusting” attempt to intimidate an exiled pro-democracy campaigner who fled to Adelaide from Hong Kong, with the federal opposition accusing a foreign actor of weaponising antisemitism.

Human Rights Watch said a separate attempt that encouraged people to inform on another dissident, Kevin Yam in Melbourne, was designed to make critics of the Hong Kong government feel “unsafe and hunted, no matter where they are in the world”.

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US man linked to Wieambilla shootings seeks to bar Australian police from testifying at trial

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Donald Day Jr, facing charges over guns and making threats overseas, is trying to block testimony from Queensland police

An American man accused of messaging with an Australian family whose delusional beliefs contributed to them killing three people has objected to Queensland police testifying at his trial.

Donald Day Jr, 60, from Arizona, was arrested by FBI agents in December 2023 and charged with making threats to public figures and law enforcement agents and with illegal firearms possession in the United States.

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Josh Cavallo reveals daily death threats and says football ‘toxic’ for gay players

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  • Adelaide midfielder talks of multiple daily death threats
  • Coming out brings ‘mountain of downsides’ for players

Australia’s first out gay male professional footballer, Josh Cavallo, has said he receives death threats every day and would find it difficult to encourage other footballers to come out due to the sport’s “toxic” environment. The Adelaide United midfielder came out in 2021 and said that despite his club’s and coaches’ support his openness about his sexuality had brought him a lot of pressure and negativity.

“There’s multiple, multiple, multiple death threats that come my way daily still,” Cavallo’s said on Fifpro’s Footballers Unfiltered podcast. “In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place. It’s something not everyone would be able to handle and go through.

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Victorian man charged for allegedly making death threats and antisemitic comments to federal MP

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Man allegedly contacted the MP using social media multiple times between 7 January and 19 February this year

A Victorian man has been charged for allegedly making death threats and antisemitic comments to a federal member of parliament.

The 41-year-old was charged on Tuesday afternoon after the Australian federal police conducted a search of his home in the Melbourne suburb of Officer, the AFP said in a statement.

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Australia news live: Wong urges ‘all parties’ to respect Gaza ceasefire; renters need $130k income to afford average property, report shows

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‘Palestinian civilians cannot pay the price of defeating Hamas. It has now been two weeks since humanitarian aid last entered Gaza’ says foreign minister. Follow today’s news live

Labour-hire flight attendants to get pay boost

More than 750 domestic flight attendants funnelled to Qantas by labour-hire firms will get a hefty pay boost, AAP reports, in what is being hailed as a victory for “same job, same pay” laws.

Some of these crew will no longer need three jobs to make ends meet and put a roof over the heads of their families.

These are workers who wear the same uniform, do the same work, work the same rosters but have been paid significantly less than their colleagues. They do the same job and they deserve the same pay.

A crime scene has been established and an arson chemist will attend the scene [this] morning. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire remains ongoing.

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NSW psychiatrist quit when workload threatened patient safety, court hears

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Dr Suzanna Goodison’s evidence before Industrial Relations Commission part of the push by doctors union to stem exodus of specialists from the public system

A New South Wales psychiatrist who was asked to take on the workload of two public hospitals quit because the amount of work was “untenable” and compromised patient safety, a court has heard.

Dr Suzanna Goodison appeared as a witness for the doctors union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (Asmof), on day two of its arbitration with NSW Health in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) court in Sydney. Asmof is seeking a special levy to increase its members’ pay by 25% to stem the flow of specialist doctors leaving the public system.

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Jury dismissed in Toyah Cordingley trial after failing to reach unanimous verdict

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Rajwinder Singh had pleaded not guilty to murdering the 24-year-old, who was found buried in sand in far north Queensland

A jury has been unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of a man accused of murder after a young woman was fatally stabbed on an isolated beach.

Toyah Cordingley, a 24-year-old organic food store worker, was found buried in sand at a beach outside Cairns in far north Queensland on 22 October 2018.

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Ex-boyfriend rehearsed murder of Sydney school coach Lilie James with ‘dry runs’, inquest hears

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Dutch national Paul Thijssen killed St Andrew’s Cathedral school water polo coach in October 2023 before killing himself in Sydney’s eastern suburbs

Paul Thijssen stalked his ex-girlfriend Lilie James and meticulously rehearsed how he would attack the 21-year-old water polo coach in a school bathroom before murdering her, a coronial inquest into their deaths has heard.

James’s body was found with serious head injuries in a gymnasium bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral school, where she worked, in October 2023.

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‘Heartbreaking’: poisoning suspected after mass deaths of more than 150 little corellas in Newcastle

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Hunter Wildlife Rescue started receiving numerous reports of sick and dead birds on Monday, centred on the suburbs Hamilton and Carrington

New South Wales authorities are investigating the possible poisoning and mass deaths of more than 150 little corellas in Newcastle.

Kate Randolph, the acting president of Hunter Wildlife Rescue, described the incident as “extremely confronting” and said volunteers and local vets were doing everything they could to rescue surviving, severely sick birds.

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Melbourne residents receive letter offering $200k for information on Hong Kong pro-democracy activist

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Exclusive: The anonymous ‘wanted’ letter contained a photograph of Kevin Yam, a lawyer who has criticised the crackdown on dissent in the territory

A small number of Melbourne residents have received anonymous letters purporting to offer a police bounty of $203,000 if they inform on Kevin Yam, an Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist wanted for alleged national security crimes in Hong Kong, linking him to two nearby locations.

A spokesperson for the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told Guardian Australia the letter was “deeply worrying” and that the matter would be raised directly with officials from China and Hong Kong.

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Guardian Essential poll: Albanese scores highest approval rating in almost 18 months as support for Dutton slips

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PM’s approval rating increases to 46%, up four percentage points since the last poll, as Labor and Coalition run neck-and-neck on a two-party preferred basis

More Australians approve of Anthony Albanese as the country’s leader than disapprove of him for the first time in almost 18 months since the referendum on the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament.

Albanese’s approval rating has increased to 46%, up four percentage points from earlier in March, the latest Guardian Essential poll shows, while his disapproval rating fell to 45%.

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Woman who planned to sell human toes regurgitated by dogs avoids jail in Melbourne court sentencing

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Joanna Kathlyn Kinman, 48, was working at an animal shelter when she found body parts of dogs’ owner who had died of natural causes

A woman who planned to sell human toes on an online black market after dogs regurgitated them has avoided jail “by the barest of possible margins”.

Joanna Kathlyn Kinman was employed at a Victorian animal shelter as a ranger when two dogs vomited up the toes and other remains in February 2024.

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Palestine Action Group launches legal challenge against controversial NSW laws restricting protests

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Group claims laws rushed through after wave of antisemitism in state are ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘undemocratic’

A legal challenge has been launched against controversial New South Wales laws aimed at curbing antisemitism and which give police broad powers to restrict protests near places of worship.

The Palestine Action Group filed the challenge in the NSW supreme court on Monday, arguing in the statement of claim that the laws were invalid because the change “impermissibly burdens the implied [commonwealth] constitutional freedom of communication on government or political matters”.

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The cars eating Australia: should we be trying to reverse our attraction to SUVs and utes?

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Australians are hooked on tax perks while road fatalities and emissions are surging and spending on petrol and insurance increasing

It’s impossible not to have noticed it – cars have been getting bigger and bigger, and SUVs and four-door utes have become Australia’s new family car. Gone are the days of the Commodore or Corolla fighting it out as Australia’s most popular vehicle. We’re now well into the era of the Ranger, RAV4, HiLux and Outlander, as well as increasing flirtations with US-style pickup trucks, and it shows no sign of stopping.

It happened gradually, despite the mounting evidence about some of the problems posed by these vehicles.

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Minns accused of ‘fuelling division’ after Lismore residents allegedly harassed on squatters’ street

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Police called after reports of abuse, thrown objects on street where NSW premier ordered homes to be demolished

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has been accused of “fuelling division” and “dog-whistling”, after residents of a Lismore street were allegedly attacked and terrorised in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The alleged incidents were labelled “vigilante attacks” by a NSW state MP, who has urged the premier to “call for calm and walk back from his threats to demolish homes”.

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Australia’s trade minister warns Trump tariff war could raise price of Big Mac in US

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Don Farrell points out most Australian beef exported to US goes to fast food giant McDonald’s

Donald Trump’s trade war could raise the price of American hamburgers, Australia’s trade minister has warned, amid fears that tariffs could be extended to beef and other agricultural products.

The trade minister, Don Farrell, said most of Australia’s beef exported to the United States went to fast food giant McDonald’s, and any new tariffs on our goods would inevitably increase the price Americans pay for their cheeseburgers or Big Macs.

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Gout Gout lights up the track in Brisbane with world-leading 200m time

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  • Sprint sensation clocks 20.05 secs in U20 heat at state championships
  • Australian breaks 20-second barrier in final with wind-assisted 19.98s

Sprint sensation Gout Gout, Australia’s fastest man over 200m, has lit up the track with a world-leading run during the Queensland Athletics championships on Sunday.

Gout first blitzed the field in the under-20 heats to cross the line in 20.05s for the fastest 200m recorded across the globe in all ages in 2025. The 17-year-old smashed the previous best 20.13s clocked by Zimbabwe’s Makanakaishe Charamba in Texas last month but better was still to come in the final in Brisbane.

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