Coordinator general releases decision to approve the coal mine’s management plan for bird
The Queensland government has signed off on Adani’s black-throated finch management plan, one of two state approvals the company needs to begin preparatory construction for its Adani coalmine.
Queensland’s coordinator general published the decision on Friday morning.
Continue reading...‘Other than being a bit cold and a bit smelly he still had a full appetite,’ rescuer says
A miniature donkey has caused a stink after falling into a large septic tank, sparking a challenging rescue north of Brisbane.
Firefighters were called to a Morayfield property on Thursday night after its panicked owners called to say their donkey had tumbled into the concrete tank and was wedged firmly inside.
Continue reading...‘There never seems to be any consistent rule or fairness,’ specialist migration lawyer
A 28-year veteran of migration law whose Rwandan clients have all been denied Australia’s protection says the resettlement of two members of a violent Hutu rebel group shows a “frustrating” double standard.
Australia’s deal with the US to take in two former members of the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, once designated a terrorist group by the US, has prompted consternation among some experts and lawyers. The pair were languishing in US detention after the collapse of a case against them for the slaughter of tourists in Uganda in 1999.
Continue reading...Two men accused of killing tourists were resettled despite being members of a group on a terrorist exclusion list, as judge in their case brands them ‘dangerous’
Two Rwandans who were let into Australia under a secret US aslyum deal could have been rejected under Australia’s strict and vigorously enforced character test, a migration law expert has said.
The assessment comes as an American judge who heard their US asylum case insisted they were “dangerous” and had posed a threat to the safety of the US.
Continue reading...The CBD reached just 10.6C while Ballarat also had its coldest May day in 19 years
Melbourne has shivered through its coldest May day in nearly 20 years, with snow falling in Ballarat and widespread icy roads making conditions slippery.
The CBD reached just 10.6C on Wednesday, making it Melbourne’s coldest May day since 2000.
Continue reading...RepuTex modelling suggests surge in state schemes and rooftop solar will reduce wholesale prices, making gas- and coal-fired power less competitive
Australia is on track to achieve 50% renewable electricity by 2030 even without new federal energy policies, according to modelling by the energy analysts RepuTex.
The analysis, to be released on Wednesday, suggests that a surge in renewable energy driven by state schemes and rooftop solar installations will reduce wholesale prices from $85 per MWh to $70 over the next three years.
Continue reading...Indigenous community welcomes plan but warns against prioritising symbolism over action
Western Australia will become the first state in Australia to permanently fly the Aboriginal flag outside every police station as part of an attempt to address long-standing divisions between police and Indigenous communities.
The proposal forms part of WA police’s first ever reconciliation action plan, released on Tuesday, which also includes a promise to increase Indigenous staffing levels in the organisation, develop protocols for delivering a Welcome to Country at police events, and “look into the feasibility of offering Aboriginal language lessons to staff”.
Continue reading...Australia to discuss Pacific investment bank and infrastructure amid concerns over Chinese influence
Australia is set to sound out the Solomon Islands on its infrastructure wish list and pitch its new Pacific investment bank, amid growing concerns over Chinese regional influence and debt-trap diplomacy.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is expected to arrive in the capital, Honiara, on Sunday for a day-and-a-half bilateral visit before he heads to the United Kingdom and Singapore.
Continue reading...Twenty-seven-year-old to face court accused of ‘particularly horrendous attack’
A homeless man has been charged over the death of Courtney Herron, who was brutally murdered in a Melbourne park two days ago.
Victoria police said the man, 27, of no fixed address, had been arrested on Sunday and charged overnight with one count of murder, and would appear in Melbourne magistrates court on Monday.
Continue reading...Victoria police said Herron, who had no fixed address, was killed in Royal Park on Friday night
Courtney Herron, a 25-year-old woman of no fixed address, has been identified as the victim of “a horrendous bashing” on Friday night that occurred before she was found dead in Royal Park in Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria police say.
The latest victim of violence directed at a young woman alone on Melbourne’s streets at night, Herron’s death has horrified Melbourne.
Continue reading...Australian science agency says there are a ‘negligible number of human deaths’ from snake bites in Australia
The popular suggestion that Australia is home to the world’s deadliest snakes is largely a myth, with the risk of bites and death far greater across Asia, Africa and South America, the nation’s science agency has said.
Herpetologist Ruchira Somaweera from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said the myth was born a few decades ago and came out of a study of the relatively high toxicity levels found in Australian species, such as brown snakes.
Continue reading...The body, yet to be identified, was discovered in the area between the Melbourne Zoo and Royal Children’s hospital
A woman’s body has been found in Melbourne between the Melbourne Zoo and the Royal Children’s hospital, in what police have described as a “horrendous crime”.
They have cordoned off a large section of the Royal park in Parkville, encompassing North Park Tennis Club and the Flemington Road Cricket Oval, as well as Elliott Avenue.
Continue reading...Treasurer signals new infrastructure for renewable zones, and says Coalition will pursue climate policy it took to the election
Josh Frydenberg says Australia needs to roll out new infrastructure in the coming term of government to support renewable energy zones, and has declared that the “inevitable” transition to low-emissions sources creates an opportunity for the country.
In his first wide-ranging interview since holding his Victorian seat last weekend, where he was subjected to a concerted campaign from the Greens and the climate-focused independent Oliver Yates, Frydenberg told Guardian Australia the Coalition would implement the $3.5bn climate policy it took to the election rather than pursue a reboot.
Continue reading...This is the first time the US president has publicly named Australia while discussing the FBI inquiry into his election campaign
Donald Trump has said he wants Australia’s role in setting off the FBI inquiry into links between Russia and his election campaign examined by the US attorney general, William Barr.
It is a potentially explosive development for the historically solid US-Australian alliance and the first time Trump has publicly named Australia while discussing what he calls the “Russia hoax” and “witch hunt”.
Continue reading...Perth’s Timothy Costelloe says forcing revelations will interfere with the ‘free practice of the Catholic faith’
Perth’s Catholic archbishop, Timothy Costelloe, says forcing religious leaders in Western Australia to reveal knowledge of child sex abuse risks “interfering with the free practice of the Catholic faith” and will be ineffective – a stance that advocates say is “ignorant and pig-headed”.
The state government plans to expand mandatory reporting laws to include religious leaders such as priests, ministers, imams, rabbis, pastors and Salvation Army officers.
Continue reading...Likely new Labor leader sets up battle with Coalition, calling on Scott Morrison to split tax cut package
Anthony Albanese says Scott Morrison should split the income tax cuts package when parliament resumes after the election, signalling Labor is still on the fence about whether to support tax cuts for Australians on high incomes.
After Queensland rightwinger Jim Chalmers quit the Labor leadership field on Thursday, leaving Albanese with a clear path to replace Bill Shorten as Labor leader, the high-profile New South Wales leftwinger told reporters it wasn’t sensible for the Coalition to bake in tax relief for the top end several years in advance.
Continue reading...Court hears that actor offered to settle for $50,000 and an apology but never heard back from News Corp
Geoffrey Rush will receive $2.9m in damages from the Daily Telegraph after a series of articles accusing the Oscar-winning actor of “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female actor.
On Thursday the federal court heard lawyers for Rush and the Telegraph had agreed the actor would receive $2m for past and future lost earnings after tax, on top of an $850,000 payment ordered by Justice Michael Wigney in his judgment in April.
Continue reading...Chalmers declares himself a possible candidate to run against Albanese after Chris Bowen pulls out of the race
The Queensland Labor rightwinger Jim Chalmers is continuing to mull whether to run for the party leadership after a coordinated show of force from the frontrunner, Anthony Albanese, prompted an early withdrawal from the ballot by Chris Bowen.
Bowen withdrew from contention and encouraged Chalmers to throw his hat in the ring only 24 hours after entering the field following a string of endorsements for Albanese from both the right and left factions over the course of Wednesday.
Continue reading...ALP searches for a new leader to replace Bill Shorten as Palaszczuk seeks Adani approval timeline by Friday. All the day’s events, live
Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP & I met with Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe in Sydney this morning.
The independent @RBAInfo helps maintain stability of our currency as well as the employment, economic prosperity & welfare of the people of Australia. pic.twitter.com/moLeByzxbK
I'm not saying "economic anxiety" isn't often a euphemism for racism. But we prob should stop wondering why Townsville people are receptive to any hope of jobs pic.twitter.com/W4ir9Xa2Di
You’ll notice how often jobs comes up in this piece. Townsville is absolutely struggling. And minor parties did make all the difference.
Related: The story behind Herbert, the most marginal seat in the country – Australian politics live podcast
Continue reading...Labor facing factional battle between Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen
The former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is positioning himself for a return to cabinet following the Coalition’s shock election win, as Scott Morrison prepares to unveil his new-look frontbench as early as next week.
The jockeying within the Coalition comes as Labor’s leadership contest crystallises, with a factional battle looming between the shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, and leftwinger Anthony Albanese.
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