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Australian news: federal and state politics, the economy, courts, weather and the stories that matter across the country.
2090 articles · page 22 of 44
A 49-year-old Ormiston man has been charged with 99 offences after Queensland police raided his home south-east of Brisbane, alleging he administered a website that hosted child exploitation material. The charges come as a separate Brisbane man was jailed for almost two decades over his 'prolific use' of livestreamed child sexual abuse from the Philippines.
· 4 sourcesEnergy analysts have warned Australia's official electricity reliability forecasts are counting on generation and storage projects that may not be built on time, arguing the planning system is hiding significant risks in the country's energy transition.
· 2 sourcesAustralian basketball prodigy Luke Paul, 17, has committed to US college powerhouse Duke University for the 2027-28 season, continuing a growing pipeline of Australian talent to the Blue Devils program. The Cairns Taipans guard, who spent time this winter scrimmaging with the Boomers alongside Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and Ben Simmons, told ESPN his ultimate goal is to become an NBA lottery pick and win a national championship with Duke.
· 3 sourcesA Tweed Heads woman has written to the newspaper detailing how her husband was injured when a fellow passenger dropped a bag from an overhead locker after a Jetstar flight from the Gold Coast to Cairns in August, with the airline yet to respond to the incident.
· 3 sourcesA reader who keeps a friend's portrait in the garage for lack of indoor wall space has been told that an unexpected visit from the artist could mean a hurried re-hanging job, with the guest left waiting at the door.
· 3 sourcesNSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has marked his first year in office by reflecting on a period he described as among the hardest any commissioner has faced, a year that included the Bondi Beach terror attack, escalating gangland conflicts and, most recently, the on-duty death of 20-year-old Constable Mia Lay.
· 3 sourcesThe opening of 30 serviced apartments built on the top floor of the Powerhouse Parramatta, fitted out at a cost of more than $3 million, has been delayed and will remain closed when the museum admits its first public visitors on November 7. The museum confirmed the setback as it quietly released admission fees for its largest exhibition, with a family of four to be charged $60 for the 33-room aerospace show Task Eternal.
· 3 sourcesBathurst, long known for its car racing circuit but overlooked by travellers heading to Mudgee and Orange, is emerging as a destination in its own right, driven by a new wave of luxury farm stays. Wilga Station, a 105-hectare working sheep farm 10 minutes outside town, offers visitors a high-end rural retreat complete with a sunken hot tub and fire pit under starry skies.
· 3 sourcesAs gender stereotypes around pet ownership fall away, the 'cat dad' is moving into the cultural limelight. The trend is embodied by owners like Ashkan Teymouri, a Melbourne tradesman who credits his cats with transforming his emotional life.
· 3 sourcesMark Nawaqanitawase will play his first NRL grand final on Sunday, a milestone that nearly never happened. His mother, Fiona Tovehi, initially banned him from playing rugby league, but a gesture from two Roosters greats changed her mind. Now she cheerfully ribs her son about his lack of domestic skills as he prepares for the biggest game of his career.
· 3 sourcesNewly elected Greens leader David Shoebridge has declared Australia should not provide any military support to Ukraine and called for the United States to be evicted from prized defence facilities including the Pine Gap surveillance base, setting out a radical overhaul of Australia's foreign policy and alliances.
The economy is shaping as the defining battleground of Australia's 2028 federal election, with interest rates at a 15-year high, unemployment rising and house prices falling, leaving Labor politically exposed on cost-of-living anger.
Steph Hodgins-May, the newly elected deputy leader of the Australian Greens, says her path into politics was shaped by personal loss and a long-held passion for climate action. After her mother was killed in the 2009 Samoa tsunami, she decided to leave corporate law and dedicate herself to environmental campaigning.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate to 4.6 per cent, its highest level since 2011, drawing fresh fears that Australian households are reaching a tipping point on the cost of living. The rate rise has added pressure on families already reporting housing stress, food insecurity and declines in financial wellbeing, while farmers warn the timing could not be worse for rural communities.
Bruce Baird, the former New South Wales minister best known for his role in securing the 2000 Olympic Games for Sydney, has died aged 84. Mr Baird, who also served as a federal Liberal MP, was the father of former NSW Premier Mike Baird and journalist Julia Baird. The NSW Liberal Party paid tribute to him on Friday, describing him as a "party stalwart" and a "greatly respected politician".
· 4 sourcesFriends and colleagues have paid tribute to two Chinese nationals, healthcare workers with a bright future in Australia, who were among three people killed in a crash in Victoria's west on September 27. Michael Zheng, 38, and his wife Angela Wang, 31, died at the scene after their car was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi Triton and a truck at Ledcourt about 6.45pm. A passenger in the Mitsubishi, 14-year-old Tenesha Fieldsend, later died at hospital.
· 2 sourcesVictoria's Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission has stopped investigating systemic issues, including the availability of beds for young patients and the illegal use of restraints, after successive state government cuts to its powers, budget and staff, documents obtained by The Age show. Mental health groups warn of major safety issues for vulnerable Victorians and are demanding the state government explain who is now overseeing the mental health system.
· 3 sourcesActivists and a Greens MP have threatened legal action after Western Australia police banned at least 12 people from entering a security zone around the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the Land Forces weapons expo opens on 6 October.
· 2 sourcesBruce Baird, the Liberal stalwart who served as a NSW state minister and federal MP and played a pivotal role in securing the Sydney 2000 Olympics, has died while on an overseas trip. He was 84.
· 3 sourcesQueensland Deputy Police Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon will retire at the end of the year, ending a career with the Queensland Police Service that began in 1986. Scanlon, who joined the force at age 19, has served in leadership roles including detective superintendent for child safety and sexual crimes and as chief superintendent at the Crime and Corruption Commission before returning to QPS and being appointed deputy commissioner in January 2024.
· 2 sourcesA Brisbane man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for purchasing livestreamed child sexual abuse shows from the Philippines over three years. Kevin Raymond Doyle, 62, pleaded guilty to 98 offences related to the abuse of 25 children, including some with severe disabilities. The Australian Federal Police investigation has so far rescued seven victims aged five to 20.
· 2 sourcesThe family of Yusuf Zahab, an Australian taken to Islamic State territory as a 12-year-old in 2015, believes he could be released from an Iraqi prison in the coming weeks after indications emerged that he will not face trial as a criminal.
· 2 sourcesA Queensland man has failed in his appeal against terror convictions for posting videos on Facebook that urged viewers to attack enemies of Islam, with the Court of Appeal dismissing his challenge and upholding his two-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
A Tasmanian parliamentary inquiry has heard that a 'blue code of silence' is discouraging victims from reporting sexual violence committed by police officers, with advocates warning that the close-knit nature of the state's police force creates conflicts of interest in investigations.
Days before the NRL grand final, thousands of Roosters and Knights fans have been left disappointed by a shortage of tickets to the decider at Sydney's Accor Stadium, with some members reporting children in tears and resale prices exceeding $1000.
· 2 sourcesSydney Roosters powerbrokers moved to sign veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans this year out of concern that captain James Tedesco might end his storied career with 'just' two NRL premierships, according to sources at the club. Cherry-Evans, who became available after failing to secure a new deal with Manly, is expected to ease the playmaking burden on Tedesco and help develop young half Sam Walker.
· 2 sourcesVeteran newsman Hugh Riminton has finished his last day of daily reporting for Channel Ten, closing a career that spanned six decades and took him from telegram-based newsrooms in Christchurch to a long stint with CNN.
· 2 sourcesA Queensland government initiative to create professional foster carers for children with complex needs has employed only three people in five months at a cost of $1.7 million, according to documents tabled in state parliament.
· 2 sourcesA teacher at Sydney's Newington College has been charged with the rape of a teenage student during a school trip to the Great Barrier Reef, with the alleged abuse exposed when the boy confided in another teacher on the tour.
· 3 sourcesThe Brisbane Broncos and Sydney Roosters will meet in the NRLW grand final on Sunday, a rematch of last year's decider in which Brisbane stunned the Roosters to claim the premiership.
· 2 sourcesDeputy Chief Judge of the NSW Local Court, Sharon Freund, has launched legal proceedings in the Court of Appeal, challenging two decisions by the Judicial Commission of NSW after it dismissed her bullying complaint against Chief Judge Michael Allen and made adverse findings against her.
· 3 sourcesThe Queensland government will remove planning and assessment authority for data centre applications from local councils under a new state-led framework, citing a lack of consistent rules across local government areas. The change comes as Australia's largest proposed data centre is being planned for the Western Downs region, about 200 kilometres west of Brisbane.
· 2 sourcesSmall business owners in Queensland say they are struggling to absorb rising costs from interest rate hikes, higher fuel prices and the end of card surcharges, with a new report finding business confidence has fallen to its lowest level since the Global Financial Crisis.
· 2 sourcesMissy Higgins has opened Sydney’s outdoor performance season with a four-star set at Mrs Macquaries Point, playing on a floating stage for the first time as fireworks burst over the harbour.
· 2 sourcesEssendon will bid on Port Adelaide next-generation academy prospect Dougie Cochrane with the No.1 pick in next month's AFL draft, Port Adelaide list boss Jason Cripps has revealed. Cochrane, who missed the under-18 championships after undergoing surgery for patella tendonitis, tops the latest prospect rankings compiled by this masthead based on discussions with AFL club recruiting staff and junior coaches.
· 2 sourcesA University of Western Australia student from the remote Kimberley region has become the first person from a WA university selected for the National Indigenous Space Academy, a Monash University program that sends First Nations tertiary students to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California for a 10-week placement.
· 3 sourcesA sexual assault advocacy group has criticised the Sydney Swans for allowing players at the centre of sexual assault allegations to remain eligible for the club's best and fairest award, after midfielder Isaac Heeney took home the Bob Skilton Medal on Thursday night.
· 2 sourcesThe Australian Greens have elected hard-left senator David Shoebridge as their new leader in a rare contested ballot, following Larissa Waters' shock resignation due to health issues. The party is wrestling with why it has failed to capture the same populist energy that has propelled left-wing candidates like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and UK Greens leader Zack Polanski, despite Labor's vote slipping in the polls.
· 2 sourcesThe AFL free agency period has begun with Geelong securing GWS Giants star Toby Greene in a done deal, while Collingwood has indicated it will not stand in the way of veteran midfielder Jordan De Goey should he seek a move when the trade period opens on Monday.
· 2 sourcesThe federal government has announced further restrictions on international students transferring between courses, requiring a separate visa for such moves, as part of a broader crackdown on 'visa hopping' and attempts by migration agents and lawyers to game the system.
· 2 sourcesCommonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn says the Reserve Bank has likely finished raising interest rates for now, but the board's November meeting is a 'live' possibility for another rise, dependent on quarterly inflation figures due at the end of October. Speaking with the ABC, Mr Comyn highlighted the growing burden on households and businesses from higher borrowing costs, while expressing optimism that Australia's falling housing prices would recover once rates eventually ease.
· 2 sourcesIf Newcastle had a reflection, it would be Fletcher Sharpe: a mullet-wearing, greyhound-owning son of a coal miner who still lives at home in Cessnock. The 22-year-old Knights star has become an accidental emblem of the city, his blonde tips and ear-to-ear grin as recognisable as the harbour itself. More than 12,000 fans turned out to a recent open training session, many sporting their own versions of his haircut.
· 2 sourcesColumnist Kate Halfpenny marks her approaching 60th birthday with a reflection on a family heirloom: a Moran modular sofa in avocado velvet that arrived in her Tasmanian childhood home in the late 1970s and stayed.
· 2 sourcesYarra Mayor Stephen Jolly has been found not guilty of unlawfully assaulting a masked protester at a post-election celebration in Fitzroy in November 2024, with a magistrate ruling that while contact occurred, the prosecution could not prove it was intentional.
· 2 sourcesNick Politis, the 85-year-old billionaire chairman of the Sydney Roosters, will fly back into Sydney on Saturday ahead of Sunday's NRL grand final against Newcastle, 24 hours after returning from a business trip to Japan. His long-time club director Mark Bouris has described Politis as a relentless negotiator who 'will not let up until he gets the deal', often operating on just three or four hours of sleep a night. The Roosters are favourites to win their fifth premiership since Politis took charge in 1993, returning to the grand final for the first time in seven years.
· 2 sourcesGabriella Cilmi, the Melbourne singer who became a global pop star at 16 with 'Sweet About Me', has spoken about being pressured into a sexually suggestive FHM photo shoot at 18, saying she was told she was 'sexy and confident' but that the experience left her in tears. Cilmi will tour in NSW and Victoria in October.
· 2 sourcesAn undercover Queensland police officer known as 'Donny Wilson' survived a potentially fatal confrontation with bikies by daring a gunman to kill him, later revealing he was driven by a desire for a 'death by crooks' following the suicide of his life partner, Karen, on New Year's Day 2000.
· 2 sourcesA Russian-Australian citizen accused of gathering intelligence from the Ukrainian military while believing he was acting for Russia has made his first court appearance, with prosecutors revealing they are analysing data from 17 seized devices.
· 2 sources