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Australian news: federal and state politics, the economy, courts, weather and the stories that matter across the country.
2061 articles · page 26 of 43
Australia's peak body for imams says it is deeply concerned about reports that a Melbourne-based Islamic preacher urged followers to take up arms against his enemies and not take Jews and Christians as friends, with independent MP Allegra Spender saying the comments strengthen the case for tougher hate speech protections.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has defended the government's economic efforts as Australians face the prospect of a looming interest rate hike, according to reports.
Four police officers who died in the line of duty were honoured at an emotional service in Canberra for National Police Remembrance Day, with new touchstones added to the National Police Memorial and a solemn procession of about 300 officers from Australian Federal Police headquarters.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's battle against inflation has entered a more perilous phase as rising Middle East tensions threaten to drive up fuel prices, complicating the central bank's efforts to hit its 2.5 per cent target while preserving post-pandemic job gains, according to analysis published Tuesday.
More than 100 mine workers at Chinese-owned Premier Coal in Collie, Western Australia, walked off the job on Tuesday afternoon in a two-hour strike over roster changes and pay, as the state government pushes toward its 2030 deadline to shutter coal-fired power generation.
The Tasmania Devils have unveiled their first group of players ahead of their AFL debut in 2028, headlined by homegrown talent Hugh McCallum, who opted out of this year's national draft to commit to the league's 19th club.
The NSW government has announced an ambitious 10-year plan to give every public primary school student access to music learning and the opportunity to learn an instrument. A music educator has welcomed the move but cautioned that trained teachers are essential for the plan to succeed.
Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland has been suspended for four matches by the NRL judiciary, ruling him out of Sunday's grand final against the Sydney Roosters and the start of New Zealand's World Cup campaign, after his tackle broke the leg of Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary. Crossland was sent off in the first half of the preliminary final and took full responsibility for the incident, which he described as "the worst couple of days of my life."
Greens leader Larissa Waters has announced she will step down as leader after a downturn in the chronic kidney disease she had been quietly managing, saying she needs to be honest with herself about not being invincible.
Furniture designer James Howe has told his wife's podcast that within their marriage "consent isn't even a frickin' thing", igniting controversy around the couple's opposition to sexual consent education and the federal government's proposed digital duty-of-care legislation.
Forensic and research experts have warned that sexual strangulation has become so normalised that young women in their early 20s risk becoming a generation with higher stroke risk at a younger age, prompting the federal government to consider banning choking pornography.
The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions has argued a Canberra man should receive a life sentence for murdering his partner, describing the two-day attack as 'torturous'. Adam James Britt, 41, admitted in court on Tuesday that his assaults on 36-year-old Tiffany Spence equated to torture, as the sentencing hearing heard paramedics found injuries 'unlike anything they'd previously encountered'.
Police suspect foul play in the deaths of two men whose bodies were discovered on the same property in northern New South Wales two weeks apart, with a 32-year-old man arrested today at Grafton Base Hospital in connection with the investigation.
Abuse survivor Grace Tame told Hobart Magistrates Court on Tuesday that she feared for her life after the man who sexually abused her as a child posted a series of tweets in 2022 threatening a "comeuppance". The special hearing follows a finding that Nicolaas Ockert Bester, now in his mid-70s, was unfit to stand trial on medical grounds.
Trade Minister Don Farrell will seek greater market access for Australian wines and spirits in Canada at the G20 summit this week, in a push to capitalise on the trade war between US President Donald Trump and America's northern neighbour. He will also call on the United States to honour its free trade agreement obligations with Australia by removing tariffs on Australian lamb and refraining from applying new ones.
A senior web developer with Queensland's Department of Premier and Cabinet could lose his job over allegations he stored pornography on his work computer and submitted fake timesheets, with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission this week ruling against his bid to continue receiving pay while he appeals the decision.
Newcastle Knights legends Andrew and Matthew Johns have launched a public campaign to convince fellow Newcastle icons Silverchair to reform for Sunday's NRL grand final, filling the entertainment slot left empty after the league's talks with pop star Tones and I spectacularly fell apart last week.
Peter Manning, the former head of ABC news and current affairs who revived Four Corners and helped expose institutional corruption in Queensland, has died aged 81. Manning passed away on Monday morning at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney after an illness, his daughter Thea Burke confirmed.
Far North Queensland tourism businesses say federal changes to working holiday visas are already driving backpackers away, with employers warning they may not be able to keep up with demand during the booming school holiday season.
Australians will no longer pay surcharges on credit or debit card purchases from Thursday, but some businesses are already responding by cutting card services or introducing minimum spending requirements.
Geelong premiership defender Jake Kolodjashnij has been medically retired from AFL football, weeks after the club was fined $140,000 over a secret concussion waiver at the centre of his final season. The 31-year-old key defender retired on Tuesday after 209 top-flight games, with the Cats praising his reliability and selflessness.
Sam Curulli, the former deputy chief executive of the Shire of Coorow in Western Australia's Mid West, has been granted bail after appearing in Perth Magistrates Court on dozens of new charges including fraud, corruption, stealing and drug offences.
The NSW Supreme Court has heard that Beau Lamarre-Condon, on trial for the murder of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, allegedly sent a 1600-word Instagram message faking a cancer diagnosis in an effort to win Baird back, using his friend's account.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent, a move expected to hit households harder than the rate cycle endured in 2023. The federal government, facing a depleted budget, will find it harder to repeat its earlier election spending playbook.
Downsizing to a smaller home can free up significant equity, but for age pension recipients the proceeds can trigger reductions in their payments, new data from over-50s developer GemLife suggests.
The removal of a 13-metre whale carcass from the shoreline south of City Beach has been delayed until Wednesday due to equipment unavailability, while authorities attempt to tag sharks attracted to the remains, though experts doubt the predators will take the bait.
Newcastle Knights halfback Sandon Smith says he feels the weight of the No.7 jersey made famous by Andrew Johns as he prepares to lead his team in the NRL grand final against the Sydney Roosters, the club that let him go. Smith, who was deemed surplus after the Roosters signed Daly Cherry-Evans, has become the face of an improbable Knights resurgence that could deliver one of the most unexpected premierships in NRL history.
Comedian Simon Taylor, a former Tonight Show writer and the first Australian stand-up to perform on Jimmy Fallon's show, has released a new sitcom The Sonny Disposition, a satire of the chaotic and ethics-free podcasting landscape. Taylor says he created the series out of exhaustion with the medium's proliferation and performative authenticity.
As spring began, readers of Brisbane Times and Sydney Morning Herald turned to brighter, lighter dishes, sweet treats and big match snacks, with a collection of 21 recipes emerging as the most popular for September.
Mortgage holders may save hundreds of dollars a month by switching banks after the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.6 per cent, the highest level in 15 years, but experts warn that finding big discounts is becoming more difficult.
National brick maker Brickworks will restart operations at its Austral Bricks facility in Cardup, south of Perth, three years after the plant was mothballed, with the Western Australian government spending $4 million to boost local brick production by 10 to 15 per cent in response to a shortage that has home builders fearing for their futures.
A private investigator invoiced Jean Nassif's development company Toplace $134,000 for surveillance of the former Strathfield mayor, with then-Labor councillor Sharangan Maheswaran convincing the company to pay the bill, an ICAC inquiry has heard.
Greens MPs will elect a new federal leader at a two-day retreat in Sydney this week, after Larissa Waters resigned as leader on Monday night citing worsening chronic kidney disease. The party room is expected to meet on Wednesday or Thursday, with Waters expected to appear alongside her successor at a press conference afterwards.
Family, fellow officers and senior police gathered in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday for National Police Remembrance Day, with the annual commemoration carrying the added grief of Constable Mia Lay, the 20-year-old officer killed in a high-speed crash in Redfern on Friday.
The Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions has appointed Sydney-based senior counsel Sophie Callan to lead the assault case against federal Labor MP Luke Gosling, citing the need to avoid a perceived conflict of interest. Mr Gosling, the Member for Solomon, faces two assault charges related to an incident with NT Administrator David Connolly at the NT Thai Grand Festival in July.
A new report from AMP has captured the deep retirement anxiety plaguing older Australians, a reality laid bare in the story of Antony, a 59-year-old casual community-sector support worker. With shifts that can be cancelled just minutes before they begin, he has accumulated only $98,000 in superannuation while still owing $100,000 on his mortgage. His plan is to work until age 67, use his super to clear the debt, and then rely entirely on the Age Pension.
A DemosAU poll has Labor narrowing the Coalition's two-party lead to 52-48 in Victoria, two months out from the state's November 28 election, while fresh federal polling continues to show strong primary support for One Nation across the country.
A major developer has withdrawn from the Eyre housing estate in Adelaide's north, a project planned for 1,900 homes. The South Australian government has assumed responsibility for the remaining stages and will seek a new development partner. Acting Housing Minister Michael Brown has assured the hundreds of buyers with existing contracts that their deals will be honoured.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has confirmed the league will consider changes to the free agency system, with a focus on ensuring the rules do not distort the competition's competitive balance. Dillon said the issue would be discussed with the AFL Players Association in the next collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
Adam Gee has been appointed to referee his second NRL grand final, with Chris Butler working as the bunker official for Sunday's Roosters-Knights decider. Incumbent 2025 grand final referee Grant Atkins was overlooked after not officiating in either preliminary final.
Angus Crichton will run out for the Sydney Roosters in Sunday's NRL grand final in his final match for the club, ending a 12-year career that began with a cold email sent from his high school account when he was 17.
Conceptual artist Amanda Bennetts created the work 'Axis Mundi', now showing at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, as a response to what she describes as a relentless onslaught of targeted ads — including one for a funeral home — that began after she was diagnosed with a rare muscle disease.
The Brisbane Lions' third consecutive AFL premiership places coach Chris Fagan's team in rare company, but chief football writer Jake Niall argues that the three-peat Hawthorn team of the early 2010s and another super side have the Lions covered when it comes to sustained dominance.
Ben Simmons, the three-time NBA All-Star who spent last season away from the league, has returned to basketball with the Sacramento Kings, declaring himself rejuvenated and ready to dominate after a year focused on professional sport fishing.
An 18-year-old drone pilot already facing a murder charge has been accused of conspiring to kill a man linked to the Haouchar crime family, after he was allegedly caught flying a drone near the south-west Sydney home of an underworld figure warned by police to fear for his life.
Vietnamese authorities have confirmed they are holding Australian activist Tran Hiep and a Norwegian citizen on terrorism charges, after a pro-democracy group accused Hanoi of abducting the men from Cambodia in what it called an act of "transnational repression".
An Australian police officer has been accused of telling a friend he would dispose of bodies in a location where they would never be found, according to reports from Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times. However, no substantive details regarding the circumstances, the officer's identity, or the investigation have been published at this stage.
Australian families are waiting on tomorrow's interest rate news, with The Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times both flagging the announcement as a key national story.