Category Archives: Australia news

Hakeem-al Arabi: Thai cave diving heroes Harris and Challen call for footballer’s release

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The divers, who were named 2019 Australians of the Year, have written to the Thai prime minister to free the refugee

The Thailand cave rescue diving heroes and Australians of the Year, Dr Richard Harris and Dr Craig Challen, have joined the campaign to save the refugee footballer Hakeem-al Arabi, a Bahraini refugee and resident of Australia who is being detained in Bangkok.

Harris, an anaesthetist and diver from Adelaide, and Challen, a champion diver from Wangara, Western Australia, were part of the global team that freed the trapped Wild Boars football team in July 2018. They have been friends and cave diving partners for years.

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Stand by for Liberal fightback as Labor steals march in marginals

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Party will rally its base and harvest undecided voters by banging the drum on Labor’s tax measures

This weekend, I think it’s productive to take you into the world of Coalition MPs as they pack their bags anticipating the return of federal parliament next week.

The parliamentary weeks show the Morrison government at its most vulnerable because the Coalition no longer commands a majority in either chamber, but it’s not the resumption of parliament many MPs are fretting about.

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No-deal Brexit: UK exporters risk being locked out of world’s harbours

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Goods dispatched in coming days may not arrive until after 29 March deadline

British exporters sending goods to far-flung destinations in the coming days risk being locked out of harbours around the world as a no-deal Brexit looms, business leaders have warned.

Independent trade experts and the UK’s biggest business groups said exporters could be dispatching goods from UK ports imminently that would not arrive until after the 29 March deadline. This raised the prospect of goods being stuck in ports or facing hefty additional costs in the event of a disorderly Brexit.

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Australia can meet its Paris targets – if government doesn’t hinder progress

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ANU research suggests net cost of achieving Paris targets is zero because renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels

New research finds Australia is installing renewable energy faster than any other country, a trend that will allow Australia to meet its economy-wide Paris targets five years ahead of schedule if politics doesn’t derail the trend, according to new research from the Australian National University.

While emissions have been rising across the economy since the Abbott government repealed the carbon price after winning government in 2013, they have been falling in the electricity sector because of the closure of ageing coal plants and the rapid uptake of renewables.

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Our stories: the women mutilated by Emil Gayed

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An independent inquiry has delivered its findings about the gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed after Guardian Australia revealed he was the subject of dozens of complaints from women about botched surgery and other practices at numerous hospitals in New South Wales and the ACT. Here are some of the cases uncovered so far – the list will be updated as more information is received or when more patients give permission

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‘I’m petrified’: 10 years on, Black Saturday trauma still haunts

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Survivors of the Kinglake bushfire of 7 February 2009, which took 120 lives, talk about their struggle to move on

“Half the town is on medication, and the other half should be.”

That’s bushfire survivor Anne Dixon’s dark-humoured attempt to describe how people from the mountain-top hamlets around Kinglake are coping 10 years on from Black Saturday.

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For the sake of trust in politics Tim Wilson must go – the problem is he can’t see that | Katharine Murphy

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Tim Wilson, in his hurry to ‘help’, has overreached and anyone can see his position isn’t tenable

If it wasn’t already obvious, we have entered the “whatever it takes” stage of proceedings.

The Coalition wants to get back into the contest, and is on the hunt for the knockout blow, or blows. The core objective at the moment is to get the whole country roiling about Labor’s “retirement tax” (that isn’t a tax, just like the carbon tax was never a tax despite what Tony told us).

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R Kelly Australia tour raises ‘serious concerns’ amid sex abuse allegations

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R&B singer announces tour of Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka after explosive documentary detailing accusations

The R&B singer R Kelly, who is facing multiple accusations of sexual abuse, has announced a tour to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, prompting concern from members of the public and some MPs.

The tour, which was announced in social media posts from the singer – but was accompanied by no dates or venues – comes in the wake of an explosive documentary detailing allegations that the artist has been sexually and physically abusing women for decades. R Kelly has denied the allegations, and has faced no criminal convictions.

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‘Beggars belief’: more endangered parrots exported from Australia

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Warren Entsch demands investigation after German convicted kidnapper boasts about new shipment

A government MP has said it “beggars belief” that more endangered Australian birds have been exported to a German organisation headed by a convicted kidnapper and extortionist, after a Guardian investigation revealed there had been multiple warnings that the birds could be sold to collectors at a huge profit.

Warren Entsch repeated calls for an independent investigation into how the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots was able to receive hundreds of rare and endangered birds from Australia, after its founder, Martin Guth, used a social media post to say more endangered species had arrived at its facilities in January.

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Bill Shorten demands extra sitting weeks to fast-track banking reforms

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Labor leader says failure to act will show Coalition ‘putting the interests of the big banks’ first

Bill Shorten says Scott Morrison must schedule two extra sitting weeks in March to fast-track the legislative changes recommended by the banking royal commission, saying failure to act quickly will show voters the government is “putting the interests of the big banks ahead of them”.

As Morrison signalled executives of the National Australia Bank should reflect on Kenneth Hayne’s “sharp” assessment of their conduct, Shorten wrote to the prime minister on Tuesday, declaring it was critical the reforms be legislated as soon as possible, and demanding two extra sitting weeks be scheduled in March.

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Townsville floods: dam management under scrutiny as experts demand greater preparation

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Study rates this week’s unprecedented monsoonal rainfall as comparable to a one in 1,000-year flood

Australian authorities must plan for more severe floods, experts have warned, amid concern that the management of the Townsville Ross River dam contributed to extensive flooding when a massive amount of water was released downstream.

The decision to open the floodgates when the dam water level reached 43m was based on a 2012 study that warned doing so could cause more extensive property damage during the most extreme flooding events.

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Australian authorities deliberately flood 2,000 Queensland homes after record downpours

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State government warns residents to beware of crocodiles and snakes, which were reportedly heading into suburban areas

After eight days of heavy monsoonal rain, authorities in the north Queensland city of Townsville had no choice but to open the floodgates of the Ross River Dam, deliberately flooding about 2,000 homes.

The decision was made as the Queensland government also published a warning to people to beware of crocodiles, snakes and other wildlife, which were reported to have left the swollen river and headed into some suburban areas.

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Queensland flooding: thousands of homes in Townsville under threat as waters rise – live

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Torrential rain forces authorities to open Ross River dam floodgates, releasing 1,900 litres a second in ‘once-in-a-century flood’. Follow all the developments • Townsville floods: Queensland premier warns ‘we haven’t got to the peak’

At this stage, authorities expect the Ross River to peak about 11am, and for the peak to last most of today.

That’s potentially good news for Townsville residents, especially those under threat but not yet underwater. It’s also a sign that the flood emergency is unlikely to end any time soon.

Overnight, Townsville residents were warned to stay out of the water – and for good reason. A number of crocodiles sightings have been reported, while the authorities also warned of snakes in the water.

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Yang Hengjun: lawyers denied access to Australian held in China

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Authorities say Chinese-born writer refused to see legal team but secretive process means claim can not be verified

Two lawyers hired by the wife of an Australian detained in Beijing for suspected espionage have said they were denied access to him by Chinese authorities, who said the detainee had not agreed to their appointment.

Yang Hengjun, a 53-year-old Chinese-born writer, was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou while waiting for a transfer to Shanghai in January. He had flown in from New York.

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Townsville dam floodgates fully opened, putting more homes at risk

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Residents urged to seek higher ground as water surges at 2,000 cubic metres a minute from Ross river dam

Residents in the Queensland city of Townsville – where up to 500 homes are already under water – were urged to seek higher ground on Sunday as heavy downpours forced the floodgates to the city’s swollen Ross river dam to be completely opened.

A heavy deluge of rain on Sunday pushed dam levels to almost 250% capacity with authorities having to open the floodgates, almost doubling the amount of water flowing out of the catchment.

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Queensland floods: Townsville reels under record water levels as more rain arrives

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There are several more days to go in this flood event, Bureau of Meteorology warns

Queensland authorities have said the state’s north was entering “unprecedented territory” as monsoon rains battered the city of Townsville, setting record flood levels and destroying homes.

As the natural disaster entered its four day, the state emergency service confirmed on Saturday that 80 people had been rescued. It was too early to quantify the damage to homes, although some media reports said at least 50 homes had been affected so far.

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