Category Archives: Australia news

Swedish teenager jailed for attempted murder, rape and assault committed online, with victims in Germany and Australia

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Eighteen-year-old known as Chai was active in networks notorious for their sadistic exploitation of young people

A Swedish teenager known as Chai has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for attempted murder, rape and aggravated assault – crimes committed via the internet, including against a teenage girl in Australia.

The district court found that Chai, 18, was active in online networks notorious for their sadistic extortion of young and vulnerable people, coercing them to create sexually explicit material or engage in acts of violence – and for the youth of those involved.

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

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Australian man accused of murdering Thai teenager and putting body in suitcase pleads not guilty

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Simon Peter Carman appeared in a Pattaya court on Friday charged with killing Tunchanok Donhomla

An Australian man accused of murdering a Thai teenager and putting her body in a suitcase pleaded not guilty on Friday in a hearing in the seaside resort city of Pattaya, a court official said.

Simon Peter Carman, 45, was arrested in June after 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla was reported missing in Pattaya City, about 150km south-east of Bangkok. A suitcase containing her body was found shortly after.

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Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying

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Liberal MP speaks of AI’s shortcomings as cyber chief tells inquiry the tech is needed to fend off ‘highly capable malicious cyber actors’

When a man with a terminal illness wrote to his local MP Andrew Hastie, telling him he planned on ending his own life with voluntary assisted dying, Microsoft Copilot suggested Hastie reply with “congratulations!”, “great to hear from you” or “that is wonderful news!”.

Hastie shared the episode at a parliamentary inquiry on Friday to underline the shortcomings of the American-run software as he called for AI run by Australians.

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Albanese government considers ‘world-leading’ ban on smart glasses in public offices and buildings

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Minister for public service says the devices pose ‘legitimate privacy and security concerns’ in commonwealth-run workplaces

The Albanese government is considering a “world-leading” ban on smart glasses in its offices and service centres as councils around Australia push the technology out of public spaces over privacy fears.

The government has avoided a sweeping ban on the import of the camera-equipped technology and encouraged individual workplaces to set their own rules.

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Prominent athlete tells Alan Jones trial he sent shirtless photo before unwanted kiss he wished ‘never happened’

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Former 2GB and 2UE broadcaster has pleaded not guilty to 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges

An alleged victim of Alan Jones has told a Sydney court that an unwanted kiss from the former shock jock more than a decade ago is seared in his memory and he wished it never happened.

The ex-sportsman, known as complainant M, agreed during cross-examination by the defence that he sent Jones a shirtless photo of him in Paris some months before the alleged kiss.

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Health officials in turmoil over 11th-hour backflip on aged care algorithm override powers, emails reveal

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Ministers given emergency briefing about changes to algorithm decisions just three days before tool rollout

Senior health department officials were in turmoil before the rollout of an algorithm to determine funding packages for older Australians, after discovering legislation had been drafted so rigidly that the tool could not legally be overridden by aged care assessors.

Emails published under freedom of information (FoI) by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing show that, despite assessors long receiving reassurance from the department that they would have powers to change incorrect algorithm decisions, officials realised at the 11th hour this would violate proposed regulations.

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‘Anywhere, anytime’: Victoria police and PSOs to get random stop and search powers after Labor backflip

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Premier Ben Carroll adopts Coalition’s stance on Jack’s Law, which gives police and PSOs power to randomly search people for knives with metal detectors

The Victorian premier has made another policy backflip, announcing a re-elected Labor government would give police and protective services officers the power to stop and search people for knives using handheld metal detectors – despite experts warning of a lack of evidence that the measure reduces violent crime.

Ben Carroll on Wednesday announced he would match a commitment made by the Coalition opposition last year to introduce Queensland’s Jack’s Law, named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019.

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Sydney man who allegedly called 13-year-old Muslim girl a ‘terrorist’ berates judge after bail refused

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Omar Yassine was arrested and charged with stalking and intimidation after allegedly hurling insults at year 8 student wearing a hijab

A middle-aged man accused of a “disgusting” Islamophobic attack on a 13-year-old girl has berated a judge after he was denied bail

Omar Yassine made an eventful court appearance on Wednesday after being held by police overnight for allegedly verbally abusing the Muslim schoolgirl on a Sydney bus.

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Anthropic lands deal in $31bn datacentre in western Queensland, David Crisafulli says

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Premier describes deal as ‘major win’ that will deliver more jobs for the state and put more energy into its grid

Anthropic, the AI company behind the large language model Claude, has done a deal to lease the site of its first Australian datacentre in western Queensland.

The $31.9bn datacentre will be the largest of its kind in Australia, according to planning documents.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

Posted on by

Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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One of Sydney’s largest councils joins ban on ‘pervert’ glasses at local swimming pools

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Councillors say locals have been raising concerns about people secretly filming in change rooms, swimming pools and around schools

One of Sydney’s largest councils has joined the City of Brisbane and the City of Yarra to issue a ban on AI smart glasses at public pools as concerns mount over the potential for predators to exploit the new technology.

On Tuesday evening, Canterbury-Bankstown voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning the tech at its pools, with its mayor, Bilal El-Hayek, describing them as “pervert glasses”.

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Australia’s Indigenous population estimated at 2.2m before ‘demographic catastrophe’ of colonisation

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Study finds earlier numbers were underestimated, suggesting impact of diseases and massacres were much greater than previously thought

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia before colonisation was dramatically underestimated, according to new research that suggests many more of them were killed.

Modelling by a national research group puts the population levels before the 1788 first fleet arrived at 2.2 million, compared with early estimates of 250,000 people.

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