Category Archives: Australia news

Women to save thousands of dollars a year as new fertility and endometriosis drugs listed on PBS

Posted on by

New contraceptives, IVF and endometriosis treatments added to federal subsidy scheme, with Coalition leaders backing the move

New medications related to contraception, endometriosis and IVF will be subsidised on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 May, with some women expected to save thousands of dollars each year.

The announcement from the federal government on Sunday was welcomed by health campaigners, who said women’s health issues have been sidelined for far too long.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

New drugs added to PBS; alleged e-scooter bandit arrested – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Bandt: government could deliver cheap renewable energy

The Australian government could use publicly owned electricity generators and retailers such as Snowy Hydro to offer power at cost to households and businesses, Bandt says.

I think a surplus mentality, understanding that we have got an enormous amount of sun and wind and if we back it up with storage, we could really drive down the cost of electricity in this country, and make it a place that you bring your businesses to from overseas, deliver cheap electricity for households. A mind shift is needed and the government could play a big role in that given its stake in a publicly owned generator.

We need to fast-track the build of renewables and also of storage.

But look, we have to wait to see – is there a peace [deal]? What is the agreement? What is the request that is being made? There are things that could be done right now, though. The ABC reported a couple of weeks ago that Australia is still the largest buyer of Russian oil. And it’s meant to be sanctions imposed.

Continue reading...

PM says ‘small’ Australian contribution to Ukraine peacekeeping force could follow ceasefire

Posted on by

Coalition opposes putting ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine saying peacekeeping is Europe’s responsibility

Anthony Albanese says Australia may send a “small contribution” of peacekeepers to Ukraine if asked, but it was premature to discuss the details before Russia agrees to a ceasefire agreement.

The prime minister joined a phone hook-up overnight that was chaired by the UK’s Keir Starmer and included the leaders of Canada, New Zealand and Europe, a collection referred to as the “Coalition of the Willing”. It also included the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

NSW police say off-duty officers’ shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar boom’ after dispute with Muslim man were ‘banter between friends’

Posted on by

‘The chanting you heard was not directed at you in any way,’ inspector tells Sydney man who complained about neighbour’s Christmas party in Glenmore Park

A NSW police internal investigation has found that off-duty officers who allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar boom” and “Hezbollah” at a Christmas party after a verbal dispute with a Muslim man who lived next door were indulging in “banter between friends”.

The incident allegedly took place on 13 December at Glenmore Park in western Sydney, after the man complained to his neighbours about water from their swimming pool leaking into his property.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

NSW Labor divided over Chris Minns’ plan to extend controversial youth bail laws

Posted on by

Exclusive: MLC Stephen Lawrence tells party room government is putting state on ‘slippery slope’ to more punitive approach

The New South Wales premier is facing growing internal dissent over his plan to extend controversial youth bail laws, with one MP telling caucus the laws had put the government on a “slippery slope”.

Sources say Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence – a former barrister and one-time mayor of Dubbo – argued during a February meeting that the government was on a path whereby it could adopt further punitive approaches because the laws introduced a year ago weren’t working.

If crime wasn’t going down there could be calls for even tougher measures, leading to a dangerous downward spiral, Lawrence suggested.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia will not revise critical minerals-for-tariffs exemption deal rejected by Trump administration

Posted on by

Resources minister says she is ‘sad’ the US did not embrace a more reliable supply of minerals for renewable energy and battery technologies

The Australian resources minister was saddened the US did not accept an offer of guaranteed supply to critical minerals in return for steel and aluminium tariff exemptions, and has warned the package will not be improved.

Australian diplomats proposed a more reliable supply of critical minerals – which are essential for renewable energy, computer and battery technologies – as they sought exemptions from a 25% tax on steel and aluminium imports.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Female prisoner allegedly sexually abused for years by prison guard settles with NSW government

Posted on by

Woman alleged she was raped when the department of justice already knew Wayne Astill was ‘abusing his position towards female inmates’

A female prisoner allegedly sexually abused for years by a senior prison guard will be paid an undisclosed sum as part of a New South Wales government settlement in an ongoing class action.

Court documents filed to the NSW supreme court reveal that the woman, known as GP1, alleged she was raped when the department of justice already knew Wayne Astill, a prison guard, “was abusing his position toward female inmates”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Baby wombat-snatching US influencer apologises and says she was ‘concerned’ for Australian animal

Posted on by

Sam Jones, who left Australia on Friday, posted a 900-word statement questioning outrage in country where ‘slaughter of wombats’ is permitted

A US hunting influencer who caused outrage in Australia after grabbing a baby wombat from its mother says she is sorry for the incident but was only trying to ensure its safety by removing it from a road.

Sam Jones left the country on Friday morning after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said immigration authorities were checking if she had breached the conditions of her visa.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

The new reality dawning in Australia: it can no longer rely on the US

Posted on by

For all the fraternal rhetoric, the alliance has always been asymmetric. It seems Washington under Trump sees it as immaterial

It’s not really about the tariffs.

Not for Australia the brutal humiliation meted out on camera to Ukraine in the Oval Office. Nor Canada’s escalating war of invective and retaliatory sanctions.

Continue reading...

Get the app, consider capacity and be ready for behavioural change: top tips on installing a home battery

Posted on by

Guardian readers share what they wish they had known before taking the plunge

So you’re finally ready to install a battery at home. There is much to consider – from cost and capacity to the behavioural changes that can boost efficiency. Here, Guardian readers make it easy by sharing their experiences and offering key pieces of advice for how to get the most out of it.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Fatberg weighing 30,000kg is pulled from a sewer in Western Australia

Posted on by

The blockage – thought to be the state’s biggest ever – was discovered at a wastewater facility during routine maintenance

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The biggest ever fatberg found in Western Australia has been pulled from a sewer, weighing in at 30,000kg.

Fatbergs are made up of material that cannot dissolve in water – such as oil, grease and wet wipes flushed down sinks and toilets – which then pile up and stick together.

Continue reading...

NSW bans hay imports from south-east Queensland amid fear of fire ants after Cyclone Alfred

Posted on by

Invasive Species Council says moratorium a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ to inadequacy of national eradication program

New South Wales has temporarily banned the import of hay from parts of south-east Queensland as a precaution against invasive fire ants, which are on the move in large numbers thanks to flooding from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

But the Invasive Species Council said the move is a Band-Aid response and accused the Queensland, NSW and federal governments of dropping the ball in suppressing fire ant numbers within infested areas.

Continue reading...

LNP accused of ‘outrageous betrayal’ after halting implementation of anti-discrimination law reform

Posted on by

Attorney general says legislation developed in response to Citipointe scandal could ‘create unnecessary burden on organisations and institutions’

The Queensland government is facing criticism after announcing an indefinite delay to the implementation of anti-discrimination law reforms designed to protect victims of domestic violence, homeless people, women at work and others.

The state attorney general, Deb Frecklington, told parliament on Friday she would introduce legislation to delay implementation of the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘Bad’ hate crime laws quickly passed after terror ‘con job’ must be reversed, crossbenchers insist

Posted on by

Independents and legal experts say Labor and the Coalition’s team-up to ‘ram laws through parliament’ was rushed, lacked transparency and was ‘bad politicking’

Labor and the Coalition have been accused of “bad politicking” by teaming up to pass tough hate crime laws in the wake of a series of antisemitic incidents, including one revealed this week to be a “fake terrorism plot”.

Crossbench MPs also backed a review – or a reversal – of the laws, after the revelations about the caravan plot.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australians are obsessed with SUVs and huge utes, but experts say they are making our roads deadlier

Posted on by

About 60% of the 1.2m cars that drove out of the showroom last year were SUVs, but road fatalities reached a 12-year high too

George Upjohn vividly remembers his interaction with the driver of an SUV after a collision that happened while cycling in Sydney’s south.

“I had blood all over my shins and when I hobbled up and asked why she didn’t turn her head to check to her side before veering into my lane, she said she didn’t need to because the sensor in her car would have alerted her to me. She said I must have been at fault and rode into her,” the 32-year-old claims.

Continue reading...

Elon Musk’s Starlink could be used to transmit Australian election voting results

Posted on by

Contract comes to light after questions raised about the increasing role of Musk in Australia’s communications systems

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The Australian Electoral Commission is planning on using Elon Musk’s Starlink services as back up for transmitting voting results information in the upcoming federal election.

In a contract published late last year, the AEC appointed Telstra responsible for the agency’s fixed line and Starlink services until mid-2027, in a deal worth $1.38m. A spokesperson for the AEC confirmed Starlink could be used in the upcoming election for sensitive election data.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Politics is Clive Palmer’s ‘golf’ – and he’ll keep pouring money into it as long as his wife will let him

Posted on by

Mercurial mining magnate answers questions at the National Press Club through Tim Tams, telling journalists: ‘It’s my money. If I lose it, I lose it’

• See all our Australian election 2025 coverage

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Clive Palmer faced a conundrum in Canberra on Thursday: whether to answer a question on China and Taiwan from one of the press gallery’s most esteemed journalists, or swallow the chunk of chocolate biscuit he’d just bitten into.

In the end, he did both, telling Andrew Probyn from Nine News that “once the American commitment goes, Taiwan wouldn’t be able to defend itself” through a mouthful of Tim Tam.

Continue reading...

Baby wombat-snatching US influencer at risk of losing Australian visa

Posted on by

Video footage, described as ‘callous’ and ‘pretty dreadful’, showed Sam Jones grabbing the joey from its mother at night

A US hunting influencer who shared video of herself snatching a baby wombat away from its mother is being investigated for a potential breach of her Australian visa.

The footage, with scenes described as “callous” by the RSPCA and “pretty dreadful” by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, showed the Montana-based influencer Sam Jones grabbing the wombat joey at night as it was walking with its mother.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Former cricketer Stuart MacGill guilty over cocaine deal but acquitted of major drug supply

Posted on by

Sydney court finds leg-spinner arranged meeting between dealer and brother-in-law but jury dismissed he knew quantity

Former Australian Test cricketer Stuart MacGill knew he was taking part in a cocaine deal but was oblivious about the large scale of the exchange that began under his restaurant, a jury has found.

The leg-spinner was acquitted by a Sydney district court jury on Thursday of taking part in a large commercial drug supply in April 2021.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australians urged to shop around as power prices set to rise up to 9% from July

Posted on by

Peter Dutton blames the government for proposed rises but won’t guarantee power prices will be lower if he wins coming election

Hundreds of thousands of households face higher power bills after the energy regulator proposed lifting benchmark prices by up to 9% in some regions.

The move prompted the energy minister on Thursday to concede power bills are “too high” and urge users to shop around for the best deal, while the opposition branded the price rise a failure of Labor’s energy policy.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...