Category Archives: Australia news

Albanese pledges permanent free Tafe places – as it happened

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Australians will have access to permanent free Tafe nationwide if the Labor government is re-elected, the PM says in the first major policy announcement. Follow today’s news live

Trump ‘not afraid to exercise power’: Hockey

Hockey says he believes Trump will seek to restart his trade war with China as he “sees China as the main adversary of the United States rather than Russian, or even threats in the Middle East”.

At the end of the day, if – the United States – the thing about Donald Trump is he’s not afraid to exercise power and he’s not afraid to threaten to use power. If he does that, then it actually emboldens Australia’s position, doesn’t weaken it because it means we have an entry point into that unpredictable power that others don’t.

I think Trump is – I know that Donald Trump sees Australia very favourably when it comes to issues like national security. I think that will flow through to Aukus that he won’t want to change the relationship with Aukus. He will, however, put a greater priority on building up the US defence system, its reservoir of not only talent, but also importantly the hardware, be it F-35s or Virginia-class subs. So might mean we go down the pecking order on the Virginia-class subs, but again it will rely heavily on our advocacy with Trump.

Whatever the case, I think, you know, we’ll be in a good position with Harris as well.

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‘The worst is behind us’: Albanese optimistic that Australia has defeated the inflation crisis

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Prime minister says nation has weathered ‘global storm’ of high prices and announces more free Tafe places at rally

Anthony Albanese has all but declared victory over the inflation crisis in an upbeat campaign rally speech promising more free Tafe places and cost of living support.

On Sunday the prime minister addressed a rally in Adelaide, declaring that Australia had navigated through the “global storm” of high prices and has “new reasons for optimism and new proof the worst is behind us”.

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‘Will haunt me for life’: nurse suspended over Covid lockdown baby shower in Melbourne aged care home before deadly outbreak

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Father-to-be was unaware of planned party at Epping Gardens aged care facility and stayed only five minutes, tribunal hears

An aged care nurse who attended a baby shower at a nursing home during a Covid lockdown has been suspended, telling a tribunal the mistake “will haunt me for the rest of my life”.

Staff at the Epping Gardens aged care held a surprise baby shower in July 2020 for registered nurse Denis Baniqued and his wife, who also worked at the facility.

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Student debt relief will make ‘massive difference’ for young Australians, education minister says

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Hecs debt will be reduced by 20% for university students under a government proposal should Labor win the next election

Slashing the Hecs debts of millions of university students will be a major boost for young Australians, the education minister says, as the federal government seeks a reset by targeting younger voters.

The government has indicated it will take 20% off students debts, which would apply to $16bn worth of loans, if Labor wins the next election.

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University graduates to save $5,500, on average, in Albanese plan to wipe 20% of student debt

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Federal government overhaul to remove close to $20bn of student debt for 3 million Australians

All Australians will have their student debt cut by 20% next financial year, as part of a major federal government overhaul designed to boost access to education and address “intergenerational unfairness”.

The change, which will be outlined by the prime minister at a campaign rally in Adelaide on Sunday, will wipe about $16bn worth of debt and is being sold as a cost-of-living measure for young Australians.

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Police search for attacker after man shot dead in busy nightlife area in Melbourne

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Victoria police say a man was found with fatal gunshot wound on Langford Street in North Melbourne at about 3.15am

A large-scale homicide investigation is under way after a man was fatally shot, triggering “horribly emotional” scenes in a busy nightlife area in inner Melbourne on Saturday morning.

Victoria police said emergency services were called to Langford Street in North Melbourne at about 3.15am after a man was found with a gunshot wound.

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Queensland truth-telling inquiry chair says premier ‘hugely disrespectful’ to demand work cease via media

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Joshua Creamer says he has had no contact from new LNP government after David Crisafulli told press conference inquiry should cease its work

The chair of Queensland’s truth-telling and healing inquiry says the new premier, David Crisafulli, should “just have the decency to front up” to First Nations people, after delivering an edict via the media for the inquiry to immediately cease its work.

Joshua Creamer, a Waanyi and Kalkadoon man, told reporters on Friday he had still received no communication from Crisafulli or any member of the new LNP government.

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University graduates to save $680 a year, on average, as Albanese announces increase to Hecs threshold

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PM to announce change that would see minimum debt repayment threshold lifted from $54,000 to $67,000 from next financial year

Graduates will be able to earn more money before they start repaying their university debts under new laws to be introduced by the Albanese government next year.

The prime minister will announce the cost-of-living measure alongside the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, at a campaign rally in Adelaide on Sunday.

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Fire danger in southern Australia as weather bureau warns of ‘damaging winds’ and soaring temperatures

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Bureau of Meteorology warns winds will ‘ramp up’ with fire risk in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia

Soaring average temperatures and strong winds will lead to high and extreme fire danger warnings for parts of southern Australia this weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the elevated risk was caused by high temperatures in Western Australia’s interior – up to 16C higher than the average – being pushed eastwards across the country.

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NSW pokies club promoted rewards scheme on first day of gambling harm awareness week, emails show

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Members urged to ‘use your mobile phone to quickly tap and connect to a gaming machine’, potentially at odds with gambling ad ban

On day one of a gambling harm awareness week, one of the biggest pokies clubs in Australia reminded members they could earn rewards by using their machines.

GambleAware week is an annual campaign run by the New South Wales government to raise awareness of gambling harm. It urges people to set limits, to stay sober while gambling, to balance gambling with other interests and not to chase losses.

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Respawned: Queensland magazine the Cane Toad Times takes aim at a post-truth world

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It emerged from the slime of the sunshine state during Bjelke-Petersen’s oppressive regime. Now it’s back – but can it survive more sensitive times?

A man whose pseudonym is Johnny La Rue is holding a yellowed magazine with two toad-headed lovers embracing on the front. He reads aloud a headline that would likely trigger a firestorm on social media were it written today.

“Who wrote that?!” he exclaims.

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Australian construction industry calls for skilled migration overhaul to ease ‘desperate’ shortage of tradies

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Labour shortage is driving up construction costs and stopping industry from building enough homes to ease housing crisis, Master Builders says

Leading construction bodies are urging the government to change its approach to skilled migration and bring in more migrants to ease the shortage of tradies.

Industry bodies say a chronic shortage of workers across 12 different trades is impacting housing prices and affecting the flow of new homes into the market.

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They have tentacles and taste great in pasta. What are the strange barnacles washing up on Australian beaches?

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Bondi beach’s newest residents may look strange to human eyes, but goose barnacles are a normal part of the natural marine environment

Goose barnacles look as strange as their name, with a long, noodle-like stalk emerging from smooth white plates. The crustacean, also known as percebes, is also extremely expensive – in Europe, where it’s enjoyed as a delicacy, a kilo might cost hundreds of dollars.

And this week, a bunch washed up at Horseshoe Bay, south of Adelaide.

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Weather tracker: More rain forecast in Spain as storms push in

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Heightened risk Cádiz river could overflow, with yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern regions

The low-pressure system responsible for Spain’s most devastating floods in decades in Valencia also set new rainfall records across south-eastern Spain. In Jerez de la Frontera, 115mm of rain fell in 24 hours on Wednesday – the wettest day on record for the southern Spanish city. The deluge caused widespread flooding and road closures, and there is a heightened risk that the River Barbate in Cádiz could overflow as more rain is forecast through Friday and into the weekend.

While the rare red warning issued on Thursday for Valencia has expired, Spain’s national meteorological service, Aemet, has maintained yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern and Mediterranean regions as storms continue to push in.

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Australia news live: PwC reveals it sacked eight staff over data breaches; Perth man dies after being taken to police watch house

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Court to rule in Pauline Hanson-Mehreen Faruqi case

A federal court judge is ready to rule on whether Pauline Hanson made a racial slur when she told Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi to go back to Pakistan.

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NSW police dogs died in car’s special cooling ‘pod’ when engine switched off, force says

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Investigation under way into whether mechanical failure resulted in deaths of German shepherds Xtra and Soldier in Sydney

New South Wales police are investigating whether engine failure led to a police car’s air conditioning failing and the subsequent death of two police dogs inside a special “dog pod”.

The German shepherds Xtra and Soldier were found dead inside the police vehicle by their handler on Thursday at about 12.30pm.

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Qantas and Virgin among 1,200 major companies that paid no income tax in Australia in 2022-23

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ATO finds 31% of large businesses reported nil tax paid as many companies deducted losses and used offsets to dial their bills down to zero

A major streaming service, media outlets, big airlines and a pizza chain are among more than 1,200 large companies that paid no income tax in 2022-23, a new ATO report reveals, as many businesses deducted losses and used offsets to dial their tax bills down to zero.

Netflix’s Australian operations generated more than $1.15bn in income in the 2023 financial year, documents show, but had no tax payable.

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David Crisafulli breaks election promise to elevate shadow team to Queensland government frontbench

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LNP leader’s cabinet includes several changes, including former leader Tim Nicholls as health minister and Fiona Simpson in women’s portfolio

Queensland’s new premier, David Crisafulli, has unveiled his new cabinet, breaking a pre-election promise to automatically elevate his existing shadow team to the government frontbench.

The LNP leader repeatedly promised the shadow cabinet he took to last week’s election would be the cabinet after it.

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David Crisafulli: premier and minister for veterans

Jarrod Bleijie: deputy premier, minister for state development, infrastructure and planning, and minister for industrial relations

David Janetzki: treasurer, minister for energy and minister for home ownership

Ros Bates: minister for finance, trade, employment and training

Dale Last: minister for natural resources and mines, minister for manufacturing and minister for regional and rural development

Tim Nicholls: minister for health and ambulance services

Deb Frecklington: attorney general and minister for justice and minister for integrity

John-Paul Langbroek: minister for education and the arts

Dan Purdie: minister for police and emergency services

Laura Gerber: minister for youth justice and victim support and minister for corrective services

Brent Mickelberg: minister for transport and main roads

Ann Leahy: minister for local government and water and minister for fire, disaster recovery and volunteers

Sam O’Connor: minister for housing and public works and minister for youth

Tony Perrett: minister for primary industries

Fiona Simpson: minister for women and women’s economic security, minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and minister for multiculturalism

Andrew Powell: minister for the environment and tourism and minister for science and innovation

Amanda Camm: minister for families, seniors and disability services and minister for child safety and the prevention of domestic and family violence

Tim Mander: minister for sport and racing and minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Steve Minnikin: minister for customer services and open data and minister for small and family business

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Ellie Price murder: anguished mother blasts sentence that could see ‘vicious’ killer Ricardo Barbaro released in 17 years

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Barbaro, 38, killed Ellie Price, 26, in her South Melbourne home in a stabbing attack a judge described as senseless and cruel

A killer who stabbed his defenceless girlfriend to death in a vicious and senseless attack should have been jailed for life, his victim’s mother says.

Ricardo Barbaro, 38, will instead be eligible for parole in 17 years. A judge sentenced him on Friday after he was found guilty of murdering Ellie Price at her South Melbourne home.

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At least 18 federal passport office officials under investigation after scathing audit report

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Auditors examined APO contracts and found undeclared conflicts of interest and wrongly identified preferred suppliers

At least 18 officials within the federal government’s passport office are facing investigation after a scathing audit report revealed multiple instances where conflicts of interest were not declared and preferred suppliers had wrongly been identified ahead of time across $1.6bn in contracts.

The Australian National Audit Office’s report into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australian Passport Office, released Thursday, found its contracting processes “fell short of ethical standards”, including a failure to keep proper documentation, appropriately deal with conflicts of interest and find value for money.

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