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Australian news: federal and state politics, the economy, courts, weather and the stories that matter across the country.
2058 articles · page 19 of 43
The NSW government has capped screen time to as little as 15 minutes a day for the youngest students, following landmark research that found widespread digital distraction and that only 10 percent of high school leaders believe students can self-regulate their technology use.
A Four Corners investigation has found that Veteran Benefits Australia (VBA), a Brisbane-based network of companies, made millions by turning veterans into sales leads on an industrial scale, with staff allegedly told to have veterans sign over their taxpayer-funded care plans to access other services.
Health authorities in Tasmania have issued a public warning after an overdose death that may have been caused by drugs possibly laced with a strong synthetic opioid. The case is the first known detection of a novel U-class opioid in the state, the Department of Health confirmed.
Sixteen days before Cameron Bancroft was caught hiding sandpaper down his pants during the third Test in Cape Town, a journalist covering the Australia-South Africa series received an unexpected delivery at his Port Elizabeth hotel room: a USB stick containing previously unseen footage of the stairwell clash between David Warner and Quinton de Kock, further fuelling what was already an explosive tour.
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews made a quiet return to Spring Street in June for a meeting with Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt, the latest ministerial diaries reveal, as part of his role as chairman of youth mental health organisation Orygen.
Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, has called on the Greens to reconsider their opposition to providing military aid against Russia's invasion, as the major parties accuse the party of naively aiding Vladimir Putin. The peak Ukrainian-Australian community body is urgently seeking a meeting with new Greens leader David Shoebridge.
The Greens Institute has proposed a $25.1bn plan to nationalise more than 200 Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and open hundreds of government-owned grocery stores under a new public chain, saying it would cut grocery prices and guarantee food access.
Jewish Australians will mark the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Wednesday as Labor-led state governments condemn pro-Palestinian vigils planned for the same day, with peak Jewish bodies organising commemorations across capital cities but avoiding publicised locations due to ongoing community safety concerns.
A Guardian Australia investigation has revealed that hundreds of Australians, including war veterans and people experiencing homelessness, are being buried in unmarked communal graves across New South Wales and Queensland, with relatives describing the practice as "unspeakable" and "a disgrace."
Nine Entertainment has relaunched its daily Superquiz with a new mobile-friendly design, introducing real-time score comparisons and social media sharing for the first time. The update, rolling out across Brisbane Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and WAtoday, aims to make the puzzle easier to play on smartphones while retaining its classic 15-question format.
Neighbours of a Maylands property in Perth claim more than a dozen cats owned by 82-year-old Louise Jones are causing persistent odours and roaming onto their properties, making daily life unbearable.
Novak Djokovic claimed the China Open title on Tuesday after Alex de Minaur retired injured from the final in Beijing, extending the Serb's unbeaten record at the tournament and delivering the 102nd title of his career.
One Nation's Victorian state election launch descended into controversy when party figure Mark Nicholson declared former premiers Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan should be in prison by Christmas. The call drew immediate condemnation from federal Liberals, who said threatening to jail political opponents is unacceptable in a liberal democracy.
Several popular Perth beaches remain closed after a whale carcass that washed ashore at City Beach last week led to unexpectedly high levels of E. coli bacteria in the water, the Town of Cambridge has confirmed. The whale was removed to Red Hill tip on Thursday, but precautionary water sampling taken last weekend returned unusual results, prompting an extended closure.
Melbourne student Ella Stiebel thought her brain would explode as she prepared to fly home from Bali after a family hike left her confined to a hotel room with severe dengue fever. Her ordeal comes as the Qdenga vaccine becomes commercially available in Australia following updated advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), recommending the shot for some travellers particularly those who have already contracted the disease. Cases of the mosquito-borne virus are spiking in popular tourist destinations and have triggered a state of emergency in parts of Florida.
As New South Wales HSC students begin their final year of school, the age spread in year 12 classrooms can span more than two years, raising perennial questions for parents about when to start their children in kindergarten.
The West Australian government has conceded a desalination plant at Esperance will be needed, a significant backflip from its dismissal of the proposal during last year's state election, as work ramps up on a $543 million upgrade to the historic Goldfields water pipeline.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will release a fully costed policy on Tuesday aimed at halting One Nation's electoral momentum, pledging to cut net migration to around 100,000 per year, roughly a third of the current intake. The larger-than-expected reduction is a bid to neutralise an issue that has driven voters to Pauline Hanson and become a central political battle in Canberra.
A celebrity fitness guru is expected to appear in court today, according to reports from multiple Australian news outlets. The specific identity of the figure and details of the charges remain unclear at this stage.
Hawthorn have secured Essendon star Zach Merrett on the opening day of the trade period, acquiring the seven-time Crichton Medal winner in exchange for picks 15 and 25 in this year's draft and a future second-round draft pick. The 31-year-old has signed a four-year deal worth $1 million per season, and the club is now confident it can also land Gold Coast restricted free agent Ben King without using additional draft capital beyond a first-round compensation pick.
The AFL has claimed this season's most-watched sporting grand final, with its decider out-rating Sunday's NRL grand final by about 230,000 viewers, new television figures show.
Residents across south-east Queensland are bracing for a dynamic weather shift as severe thunderstorms are predicted across the region on Tuesday, following an extremely dry September statewide, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
After 17 years of renting across Sydney's inner west, Marie Healy has finally found a place to call home in Hurlstone Park, a suburb she describes as a pocket of Federation charm and gardens tucked away at 'the Paris end of Canterbury Bankstown'.
Australia has experienced its second hottest September on record, with the Bureau of Meteorology reporting average temperatures 2.71C above the long-term average. The extreme heat, driven by a combination of global heating and a strengthening El Niño, also produced the hottest minimum night-time temperatures for any September on records dating back to 1910, and pushed snow depth in the Kosciuszko National Park to zero for the first time since monitoring began in 1954.
The federal Indigenous Australians Minister has voiced support for a grandmother's campaign for a coronial inquest into the deaths of three children murdered by their mother in Port Hedland in 2022, as the WA Attorney-General maintains he cannot overrule the coroner's decision without fresh evidence.
Works have commenced on the renewal of one of Western Australia's oldest pieces of infrastructure, the Perth to Kalgoorlie water pipeline, with a $543 million project to replace 44.5 kilometres of the 566-kilometre line and double the capacity of the Binduli Reservoir.
James Tedesco produced a grand final record 388 run metres and won his second Clive Churchill Medal in the Sydney Roosters’ 19-18 victory over the Knights on Sunday, but remains far from certain to wear the Australian No.1 jersey when the World Cup kicks off next Thursday. Coach Kevin Walters, who named Tedesco in the squad on Monday, has yet to decide between the 33-year-old captain and incumbent fullback Reece Walsh.
Crisis accommodation services for young people across Perth are rejecting an average of 15 requests for help each day, with children as young as 12 being turned away, according to new data from the Ending Child and Youth Homelessness Coalition. The coalition released its 2027-28 Pre-Budget Submission on Monday, urging the state government to invest in early intervention and new accommodation facilities.
A WA Greens staffer and activist who was fined over a planned protest at the home of former Woodside chief executive Meg O'Neill has had a ban on entering the Land Forces Expo security area temporarily overturned after legal action. Matilda Lane-Rose will be allowed into the security zone around the Perth Exhibition and Convention Centre between 8am and 6pm on Tuesday, but the ban will take effect again after 8pm that day.
Yusuf Zahab, the Australian taken as a boy to live under Islamic State, could be on the verge of returning home after Iraqi investigators concluded he was not a combatant or supporter of the group, according to sources close to his family. Zahab, now 23, was snatched from a Syrian prison by American soldiers and transferred to Iraq in February as part of a mass prisoner transfer, but two sources say he has been told he will not be prosecuted because he was a minor when taken to Syria.
Jaymie Graham will coach North Melbourne in 2027, taking over the role vacated by Alastair Clarkson after being selected by the club's coaching search panel. The appointment was confirmed by a source with knowledge of the matter ahead of the official announcement.
Barnaby Joyce has defended One Nation’s plan to move its national headquarters to an $8 million Brisbane office building bought by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, insisting the party will lease the property at commercial rates.
The man fatally shot by police in southern NSW on Sunday after allegedly pointing a rifle at officers has been identified by his family as Danny Di Biccari, a 45-year-old father-of-six. Police were called to a crash scene near the small town of Rugby about 2.50pm, where Di Biccari appeared unconscious in his crashed Chrysler station wagon before picking up a firearm and aiming it at an officer, prompting police to open fire.
Australia's auction clearance rate has fallen to its lowest level in three months, with new data showing less than half of homes sold at auction last week and the number of unsold properties rising by more than a fifth over the past year.
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce and Labor MP Josh Burns engaged in a fiery exchange on Monday over the government's spending priorities as inflation persists and the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.6 per cent for the fourth time in a year.
One Nation will move its national headquarters to a multimillion-dollar Brisbane office building recently purchased by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s company, a move defended by party MP Barnaby Joyce, who said the lease would be at market rates.
Marnus Labuschagne has responded to critics questioning his place in Australia's Test side by scoring his first century in 11 months. The 32-year-old made 111 against a Cricket South Africa Invitation XI in Potchefstroom, just five days before the first Test in Durban, the first since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
A 25-year-old multi-instrumentalist from Perth has become an unlikely viral phenomenon, attracting the attention of Pharrell, John Mayer, Justin Timberlake and SZA by posting a new musical sketch to Instagram every day for the past year.
The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption has concluded its marathon Operation Rosny inquiry into an alleged illegal donations scheme, with one central figure remaining elusive: former Liberal Party powerbroker Christian Ellis. Final exhibits tendered to the inquiry, which wrapped last week, reveal the lengths the commission went to secure Ellis's evidence after he moved to the UK earlier this year, including offers to sit in the evening to accommodate the time difference and to allow him to dial in from home. Ellis did not cooperate.
Sam Wood, the former Perth-based reality TV star, has been arrested and charged with alleged domestic violence offences. His wife Snezana Wood, who met him on The Bachelor in 2015, issued a statement on Instagram this morning saying the family is working through the situation and cooperating with authorities.
A 35-year-old e-bike rider allegedly recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.135 and tested positive for cocaine and methylamphetamine after colliding with a 16-year-old girl in Barrack Heights on Sunday night, leaving her with critical injuries. Police are also searching for a second rider who left without stopping.
A 19-year-old former foster child with autism, ADHD and an intellectual disability says his National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan was not updated from age 10 to 17, leaving him without the independent living skills he now needs. Coby, who lives in a supported independent living house in Hobart, has been forced to contemplate moving four times this year and fears losing the support network he relies on.
ABC News reports a nervous moment for a star player as the Sydney Roosters celebrated in Bondi, but details of the incident remain limited.
The Australian Taxation Office will stop accepting credit card payments from December 2026, with Commissioner Rob Heferen saying the decision was unavoidable given the scale of merchant fees the agency would otherwise have to absorb after a national ban on payment card surcharges comes into force on November 30.
An 18-year-old driver, Indika Samarasinghe, has been charged after his car ploughed into a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans during a parade in Wallsend on Saturday, critically injuring a young girl and leaving nine others injured. Samarasinghe appeared in court on Sunday and did not apply for bail.
The federal government's Future Fund Management Agency paid 11 employees more than $1 million in the 2025 financial year, including a mid-ranking manager who earned $1.5 million, while frontline public servants continue to pursue inflation-matching pay rises. The figures, released in response to a question from Greens senator Barbara Pocock, have sparked criticism of the gap between executive pay and the broader public service.
Australia's Monday news cycle opened with warnings that online predators are using popular gaming platforms to coerce children into self-harm and violence, the arrest of reality TV star Sam Wood on domestic violence charges in Queensland, a federal challenge to states over illicit tobacco, and concerns that a ban on card surcharges could push some tenants into arrears.
The Newcastle Knights returned to a hero's welcome in the early hours of Monday morning after their NRL grand final loss, with coach Justin Holbrook describing the fan reception at the Newcastle Exhibition and Convention Centre as 'unbelievable'.