Antoinette Lattouf hearing day four – as it happened

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David Anderson is back in the witness box and has been promised the remaining questions won’t take long.

Oshie Fagir is examining the communications between Anderson and his content chief, Chris Oliver-Taylor, over Lattouf’s removal.

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‘Harassing’ people outside places of worship could result in jail under proposed NSW law

Premier Chris Minns flags new measures, which would make certain types of protests a criminal offence, in response to ‘racial hatred and antisemitism’

The New South Wales government has proposed legislation that could make certain types of protests outside places of worship a criminal offence amid growing fears about antisemitism.

The reforms are part of a broader measures in response to a wave of arson attacks and antisemitic vandalism over the past two months in Sydney.

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Australian scientists produce kangaroo embryos using IVF for first time

Team has produced more than 20 embryos using method used in humans, though there are no plans for live joeys

Scientists have produced kangaroo embryos through in vitro fertilisation for the first time, in a development they say could help conservation of endangered animals.

Australian researchers at the University of Queensland made the eastern grey kangaroo embryos using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a technique widely used in human IVF, in which a sperm is injected into a mature egg.

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Australian foreign aid workers fear ‘deaths and suffering’ will result from Trump’s halt to USAid

The peak body for overseas aid organisations said without intervention the consequences of the president’s decision ‘will be catastrophic’

Australian overseas aid programs could shut, causing “unnecessary deaths and suffering”, in the fallout from the Trump administration’s decision to freeze foreign aid.

Workers have described “chaos” and “total panic” as they try to work out what the policy means. The peak body for overseas aid organisations said without intervention the consequences of the move “will be catastrophic”.

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Labor attempts to pass minimum sentences for hate speech crimes in departure from national platform

Albanese government will reverse stance on mandatory terms to head off opposition attacks on antisemitism

The Albanese government will attempt to pass minimum jail sentences of between one and six years for hate speech crimes in a bid to stave off opposition attacks on its response to antisemitism before the federal election.

The move marks a significant departure from Labor’s own national policy platform, which opposes minimum sentencing laws which it says do “not reduce crime”, “lead to unjust outcomes” and are “often discriminatory in practice”.

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Antoinette Lattouf hearing day three: ABC managing director David Anderson gives evidence over alleged unfair dismissal

Unfair dismissal claim is examining how and why reporter was taken off air after she posted about Israel-Gaza war on social media

The hearing has resumed with Ian Neil SC taking his honour through the ABC’s case.

After consulting with the acting editorial director Simon Melkman about Lattouf’s “problematic content” – which had been uncovered by the ABC managing director, David Anderson – the ABC decided there was no reason to take Lattouf off air prematurely, Neil tells the court.

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‘I will find you and end you’: vicious death threat against Antoinette Lattouf revealed in court documents

Journalist details abusive messages in affidavit to court hearing unfair dismissal claim

After being taken off air by the ABC over a social media post, Antoinette Lattouf was phoned by an anonymous man who threatened “I will find you and end you and shut your antisemitic mouth once and for all”, the federal court has been told.

In an affidavit released by the court on Wednesday, Lattouf detailed dozens of death threats and abusive and threatening messages she had received since December 2023 when she hosted ABC radio’s Sydney Mornings program.

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Alleged ‘Pam the Bird’ graffiti creator denied bail as court hears of social media-driven reoffending risk

Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, to remain behind bars over concerns the prolific design would continue across Melbourne if he was released

A Melbourne man alleged to be the creator of the prolific “Pam the Bird” graffiti will remain behind bars, with a magistrate saying there was a risk of him continuing to target prominent locations to boost his social media notoriety if released.

Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday morning where he was denied bail over concerns he would commit a serious offence if released.

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Jo Haylen had to go once it was clear chauffeur wasn’t justified for second Hunter Valley trip, premier says

Chris Minns says while then-transport minister made some work calls during 2024 trip with husband, ‘it didn’t justify having a driver on the day’

The New South Wales premier says Jo Haylen had to go once a second Hunter Valley trip using a chauffeur-driven car was revealed – and it became obvious she was not “justified” in having a ministerial driver that day.

Chris Minns addressed the media on Wednesday for the first time after Haylen quit as transport minister on Tuesday over the use of taxpayer-funded cars for private purposes.

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North Queensland floods: Ingham residents without running water and supplies dwindle as town remains cut off

While rain has eased across the region, residents in the small community are also without power and telecommunications

A flood-hit town has been surrounded by water, cutting off power and telecommunications, as residents face a lack of fresh supplies after waking up to the news they have no running water.

Flooding in Queensland’s north-east on Wednesday comes after days of downpours, forcing hundreds to evacuate and claiming two lives.

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DeepSeek banned from Australian government devices over national security concerns

Home affairs minister Tony Burke says decision follows advice from intelligence agencies and is not impacted by AI chatbot’s country of origin, China

DeepSeek will be banned from all federal government devices as the Albanese government cracks down on the Chinese AI chatbot, citing unspecified national security risks.

The launch of DeepSeek’s AI generative chatbot rocked US tech stocks last week amid concerns over censorship and data security.

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One-year-old found dead in car outside Sydney childcare centre

NSW police investigating girl’s death in Earlwood in Sydney’s inner west on Tuesday afternoon

A one-year-old girl has been found dead in a car in Sydney’s inner west.

New South Wales Police are investigating after emergency services were called to reports of an unresponsive child in a vehicle outside a childcare centre on Marana Road in Earlwood at 5.35pm on Tuesday afternoon.

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Sydney traditional Chinese medicine practitioner found guilty of professional misconduct after tourist dies

Chinese national, 57, staying with her daughter in Australia died after Yun Sen Luo’s advice to cease all ‘western medicine’

A Sydney-based practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine has been found guilty of professional misconduct after a diabetic woman died after his advice to cease all “western medicine”.

Yun Sen Luo was found guilty on 30 January of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct after being prosecuted by the Health Care Complaints Commission before the New South Wales civil and administrative tribunal.

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PM labels Coalition’s tax-free lunch plan ‘worst, sloppiest policy’ as Treasury puts cost in the billions

Costings commissioned by Jim Chalmers suggest policy at risk of being ‘rorted’ could cost up to $10bn a year


The Coalition’s policy for tax-deductible business lunches would cost between $1.6bn and $10bn a year, the Labor government claims, according to costings Jim Chalmers commissioned from his Treasury department.

The treasurer claimed the policy was at risk of being “rorted” by businesses claiming personal food expenses, adding further to confusion about the Coalition’s contentious meals and entertainment policy.

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Jo Haylen on notice over any more revelations after asking chauffeur to drive 446km for winery lunch

Chris Minns says if more trips by transport minister came to light ‘it would weigh very heavily on me’ as premier announces ‘we are changing the rules’

The embattled New South Wales transport minister could be in hot water if further revelations emerge about her use of a ministerial car for private purposes, the premier has suggested.

It emerged on the weekend that Jo Haylen had asked her chauffeur to take her and some friends to a winery lunch on the Australia Day weekend. It involved a 13-hour 446km round trip for the driver, from Sydney to Haylen’s holiday house at Caves Beach and then a Hunter Valley winery and back.

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Woman’s body found in paddock in second north Queensland floods death

The 82-year-old’s body was found at Bemerside near Ingham on Tuesday morning after flood waters receded

A second person has died in the north Queensland floods after an 82-year-old woman’s body was found in a cane paddock.

The woman’s body was found shortly after 11am on Tuesday morning after flood waters receded at Bemerside near Ingham.

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Guardian Essential poll: more voters say Albanese ‘out of touch’ with ordinary Australians than Peter Dutton

Survey also finds 40% of people say antisemitism is a major issue in Australia, while 48% say it is a minor issue

More voters see Peter Dutton as in touch with ordinary Australians, decisive and better in a crisis than Anthony Albanese, with the opposition leader’s standing improving on key leadership indicators in the latest Guardian Essential poll.

Parliament returns on Tuesday for potentially the last sitting fortnight before the federal election (which must be held by mid-May). Questions about the Labor government’s response to antisemitism and the alleged caravan bomb discovered in Sydney are expected to dominate the political agenda.

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Teenager dies after being attacked by a shark off south-east Queensland

The teenager was bitten on her upper body while swimming off Bribie Island, north of Brisbane

A teenager has died after being bitten by a shark off south-east Queensland.

Queensland ambulance service confirmed the female teen had sustained injuries to her upper body while swimming off Woorim beach on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon.

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‘Intensely hot’ weather continues in south-eastern states as Victoria battles bushfires

Heatwave not expected to end until Tuesday or Wednesday as fires burn in multiple national parks

South-eastern states sweltering in a heatwave may be waiting until late Tuesday or Wednesday for a cool change to bring some relief.

On Monday, temperatures in Melbourne peaked at 37.8C just before 4pm, after a high of 38C on Sunday.

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Australian dollar plunges, ASX drops as fears of trade war spread over Donald Trump’s tariffs

Traders even cashed out of gold, a historical safe haven, in push to protect against what could turn into wave of margin calls

The Australian dollar plunged to pandemic-era lows, the ASX fell and crypto prices were smashed as investors scrambled on Monday to prepare for a global trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s new tariff regime.

Traders even cashed out of gold, a historical safe haven, in a push to raise cash reserves to protect against what could turn into a wave of margin calls.

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