Category Archives: South Australia

Last of the summer rain puts southern states on flood watch and Sydney on alert for bull sharks

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SA premier Peter Malinauskas warns residents to prepare for heavy falls and possible flash floods

Late summer rain is causing havoc across Australia, with South Australia on flood watch, Victoria cleaning up after a downpour, and Sydney issuing a shark warning after heavy falls.

Almost all of South Australia, much of western Victoria and parts of western NSW were on flood watch as a slow-moving pressure system from central Australia moved east. Queensland had also seen severe rainfall.

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Get shucking: South Australians urged to eat oysters and donate shells for reef restoration project

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Shrimp soundtrack will be played under water to lure baby oysters in program aimed at fighting algal blooms

South Australians are being urged to feast on local oysters and then donate the shells to restore native reefs, which will filter ocean water and help fight harmful algal blooms.

The program will also involve lumps of limestone being sunk in the ocean, with a soundtrack of snapping shrimp playing on underwater speakers to lure baby oysters in.

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Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe claims her employer gave her immunity from complaints by pro-choice campaigners

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University of Adelaide, who employs Howe as a law professor, states that it ‘considers each matter on its merits’

A prominent anti-abortion campaigner who was banned from the South Australian parliament and accused of bullying, claims her employer has granted her immunity from complaints from anyone who is pro-choice.

Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe, who has pledged to make abortion “unthinkable”, says the University of Adelaide, who employs her as a law professor, has agreed that those with ideologically opposed viewpoints to hers will be deemed “vexatious”, and any complaints they make about her will not be acted upon.

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Two dead at Melbourne beach as wild wind batters state, while parts of Sydney hit by record-breaking heat

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Sydney’s Observatory Hill peaks at 37C on Wednesday – below the 39C forecast – as the mercury in other parts of the city neared 40C

Two men have died after being pulled from the water at a Victorian beach amid wild weather in the state.

On Wednesday evening, Victoria police confirmed two men were found unresponsive in the water at Frankston beach, on the Mornington Peninsula, just after 5pm. The men, who are yet to be identified, could not be revived.

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Weapons maker Saab ‘directly linked’ to human rights breach after missile found in South Australian Indigenous area

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Lawyer hopes investigation for OECD into 2021 find near Australian military testing range sets precedent

The weapons manufacturer Saab was “directly linked” to a human rights violation when a missile it produced was found in an Indigenous heritage area, an investigation for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has found.

The four-year investigation could lead to more companies being held accountable for how their weapons are used by clients, according to human rights lawyers involved in the case.

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VIP appearances, books and beer: what Valerie the dachshund is up to after her Kangaroo Island adventure

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‘Australia’s bravest sausage dog’, who was lost in the wild for more than 500 days, now has an ambassadorial role, merchandise and an Australian Story episode

World-famous dachshund Valerie, who was lost in the wild for more than 500 days, now has merchandise, an ambassadorial role, a public relations representative and a spot on Australian Story.

In November 2023 Valerie’s owners, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, were visiting Kangaroo Island in South Australia with Valerie in tow. But she escaped from her pen and bolted.

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Footprint found in South Australian outback search for four-year-old boy

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August, known as Gus, disappeared from his family’s sheep station in state’s remote mid-north on Saturday afternoon

The discovery of a footprint is providing a glimmer of hope before the search for a preschooler on an outback homestead becomes a recovery operation.

Four-year-old August, known as Gus, disappeared from his family’s sheep station in the remote South Australian mid-north on Saturday afternoon.

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Victoria warned to prepare for ‘destruction’ with severe weather and snow forecast

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Gusts reaching up to 130km/h expected to push further into south-eastern states on Saturday, bringing showers, hail and thunderstorms

Blizzards have been forecast for parts of Victoria and residents have been warned to prepare for power outages and “destruction” as damaging winds are expected to lash the south-eastern states into the weekend.

An intense cold front began moving across Victoria from South Australia on Friday, after rain, thunderstorms and destructive winds battered the Adelaide metro area and surrounds on Thursday night and Friday morning, and a tornado warning was briefly issued.

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Fears for South Australia’s annual cuttlefish gathering amid deadly algal bloom

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Breeding event known as Cuttlefest takes place in waters off Point Lowly but this year scientists warn the effect of toxic algae could be ‘catastrophic’

As thousands of giant cuttlefish gather in South Australia’s Spencer Gulf, scientists are investigating emergency actions amid fears the state’s toxic algal bloom could be catastrophic for the globally unique natural phenomenon.

The spectacular annual cephalopod meet-up takes place in a kaleidoscope of colour off the coast of Whyalla from late May to August, attracting thousands of tourists from Australia and overseas.

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Cold front to dump ‘decent dose’ of rain on drought-affected parts of south-east Australia

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Parched areas of South Australia, northern Victoria and south-western NSW to receive relief later this week

Drought-affected areas in south-eastern Australia can expect a “decent dose” of rain when a cold front arrives later this week, with some places likely to see the best rain of the year so far.

With one low-pressure system already delivering windy and wet conditions to the south-east on Tuesday, a second front – currently sitting off Western Australia – was expected to sweep across the country from Wednesday to Sunday, bringing a welcome band of rain to parched areas of South Australia, northern Victoria and south-western New South Wales.

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Deadly algal bloom in South Australia’s Coorong an environmental ‘eye opener’, ecologist says

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Among the dead in the internationally significant wetland are estuarine snails, shore crabs, baby flounder and ‘a thick stew of polychaete worms’

When South Australia’s algal bloom arrived in the Coorong, it stained the water like strong tea before turning it into a slurry of dead worms.

Many had hoped the storm in late May would break up the bloom of Karenia mikimotoi algae, which has killed more than 200 different marine species. Instead, high tides swept the algae into the Coorong, an internationally significant Ramsar wetland at the mouth of the Murray River.

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It never rains or it pours: Australia suffers two weather extremes in May

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Parts of eastern NSW recorded wettest May on record as rainfall in Victoria and South Australia was 70% below average for the month

Australia saw a tale of two weather extremes last month, with extremely dry conditions continuing across southern parts of the country as parts of eastern New South Wales recorded the wettest May on record.

The low pressure trough that developed off the coast of NSW on 18 May and lingered for days, led to record high rainfall in numerous locations throughout the Hunter and mid-north coast.

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Tesla wins council approval for new factory in South Australia despite vocal anti-Musk sentiment

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Marion council votes to seek state government approval for battery factory in Adelaide despite hundreds of submissions opposing it

Elon Musk’s Tesla is one step closer to opening a factory in an Adelaide suburb despite overwhelming community opposition from “anti-Tesla and anti-Elon Musk sentiment”.

On Tuesday night the City of Marion council voted to seek state government approval to sell the site to a developer who will build the factory.

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Adelaide’s first skyscraper criticised as ‘profound mistake’ and ‘hugely questionable’ by opponents

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Critics say ‘phallic’ 38-storey commercial tower next to state parliament is ‘the wrong building in the wrong place’

Adelaide’s first skyscraper will be a “phallic” construction overshadowing the birthplace of women’s suffrage, critics say.

The Walker Corporation has begun work on a 38-storey commercial building next to Parliament House on North Terrace, which is known as the city’s cultural boulevard.

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‘A horror movie’: sharks and octopuses among 200 species killed by toxic algae off South Australia

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Karenia mikimotoi algae can suffocate fish, cause haemorrhaging and act as a neurotoxin, one expert says

More than 200 marine species, including deepwater sharks, leafy sea dragons and octopuses, have been killed by a toxic algal bloom that has been affecting South Australia’s coastline since March.

Nearly half (47%) of the dead species were ray-finned fish and a quarter (26%) were sharks and rays, according to OzFish analysis of 1,400 citizen scientist reports.

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After braving the wilderness for 500 days, Valerie is heavier than ever. Has someone been feeding the mini dachshund?

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Kangaroo Island mayor also notes a silky coat on the dog, while Kangala Wildlife Rescue says ‘possums or cats out there were grooming her’

As Valerie is reunited with her owners, mystery remains over how the miniature dachshund braved more than 500 days in Kangaroo Island’s rugged wilderness only to emerge healthy, happy – and larger than before.

Valerie captured the world’s attention when she was spotted 529 days after going missing on the South Australian island, with people worldwide avidly following the story of her capture.

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Synthetic opioids linked to spate of overdose deaths found in wastewater across Australia

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Detection of powerful nitazenes in samples from 60 sites a ‘red flag’ amid surging use to lace street drugs

Synthetic opioids a thousand times stronger than morphine and an animal sedative used to lace street drugs have been detected in Australia’s wastewater.

The discovery has been described as a “red flag” and comes as the deadly class of synthetic opioids – nitazines – claims dozens of lives in Australia.

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Valerie the dachshund is found safe and well after 529 days on the run on South Australian island

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Rescuers on Kangaroo Island say they are ‘overjoyed’ after the dog walked into one of their traps

After 529 days on the run, Australia’s favourite fugitive has been caught at last.

Valerie the miniature dachshund, who went missing on Kangaroo Island way back in 2023, has been rescued by conservationists.

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Trade unionists, conservationists and church groups unite against Dutton’s nuclear plan

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Seven Regions Nuclear Free alliance launches campaign representing groups who oppose the Coalition’s proposed nuclear reactors in their communities across Queensland, NSW, SA, Victoria and WA

Trade unions, conservationists, First Nations groups, church congregations and community organisations have launched a coordinated campaign against opposition leader Peter Dutton’s plan for nuclear reactors across Australia.

The Coalition has pledged, if elected, to build seven nuclear reactors to replace retiring or retired coal sites naming Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Liddell and Mount Piper in New South Wales, Port Augusta in South Australia, Loy Yang in Victoria, and Muja in Western Australia.

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Stinging deaths, back yard poisons and billions spent: model predicts Australia’s fire ants future

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Exclusive: Cost blow-out has experts worried people will use ‘huge’ volumes of pesticides to protect themselves from ‘tiny killers’

Australian households will spend $1.03bn every year to suppress fire ants and cover related medical and veterinary costs, with about 570,800 people needing medical attention and 30 likely deaths from the invasive pest’s stings, new modelling shows.

The Australia Institute research breaks down the impact of red imported fire ants (Rifa) by electorate, with the seats of Durack and O’Connor in Western Australia, Mayo in South Australia and Blair in Queensland the hardest hit if the ants become endemic.

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Blair: $1.7m in medical costs, $1.5m in vet costs and $5.1m in household pesticide costs.

Dickson: $1.4m in medical costs, $1.2m in vet costs and $4m in household pesticide costs.

Ryan: $1.5m in medical costs, $1.3m in vet costs and $3.4m in household pesticide costs.

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