Australia

Australian news: federal and state politics, the economy, courts, weather and the stories that matter across the country.

2061 articles · page 16 of 43

Australia

WA officials forced to break law by keeping mentally impaired man in prison, judge finds

A Supreme Court judge has found that Western Australian officials were forced to break the law by keeping a mentally impaired man in prison because the state's only facility for mentally impaired prisoners did not have enough beds. Justice Terence Palmer ruled that the man, known only as SJQ, was denied appropriate psychiatric care for about two months at Hakea Prison despite a magistrate having ordered him sent to the Frankland Centre at Graylands Hospital for treatment of his treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenia.

·2 min
Australia

Redeemer Baptist School flagged 15 times for child harm, never visited by authorities, inquiry reveals

A parliamentary inquiry has revealed that the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) received 15 risk of significant harm (ROSH) notifications involving children from Redeemer Baptist School in Parramatta since 2004, but never conducted a single face-to-face field assessment. The school, run by a church banned from caring for children, faces allegations of systemic abuse, extreme control and forced communal living, as former students and staff give evidence of sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual harm.

·2 min·3 sources
Australia

NSW Police Commissioner Lanyon sought to block public watchdog hearings into Herzog protest violence

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon made a last-ditch attempt to prevent the state's police watchdog from holding public hearings into allegations of officer misconduct during protests against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, documents released on Thursday reveal. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) announced the Operation Makalu hearings will proceed with an opening address on October 19, after initially postponing them last month.

·2 min·5 sources
Australia

Hunter Valley's HVO mega-mine faces legal challenge after High Court emissions ruling

The vast HVO coal mine in NSW's Hunter Valley is expected to face a court challenge after the High Court struck down a separate mine approval for failing to account for the climate impact of exported coal burned overseas. Premier Chris Minns is resisting opposition calls to legislate around the ruling, while energy industries in Queensland and Western Australia warn it threatens future investment.

·3 min·8 sources
Australia

High Court quashes coal mine expansion over climate emissions; banks seek regional sharing exemption

Australia's High Court has declared invalid the approval of a major coal mine expansion, a landmark decision that will force New South Wales planning authorities to consider emissions from Australian coal burned overseas. The ruling is among several developments making headlines on Thursday, October 8, as the nation marks one year since the October 7 attacks in Israel.

·2 min·3 sources