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Australian news: federal and state politics, the economy, courts, weather and the stories that matter across the country.
2070 articles · page 29 of 44
A new report from the Herald and The Age details how Izzy Burgess supported former Bombers player Draper through arduous months of rehabilitation, keeping things light with satirical memes and a viral T-shirt during what he called "the darkest moments of my life."
· 3 sourcesAustralia’s flu season is peaking later than usual, with infectious diseases experts urging the public to still get vaccinated despite the late timing. In the two weeks to September 6, the Australian Respiratory Surveillance report recorded more than 31,000 influenza cases, a 27.2 per cent increase from the previous period, bringing the year-to-date total to 171,440 laboratory-confirmed cases.
Fremantle are on the cusp of claiming their first AFL premiership, driven by a resilient squad built from overlooked players and a rock-solid defensive foundation, as they prepare to face the Brisbane Lions in Saturday's grand final.
Thousands of Queensland child safety workers will walk off the job for two-and-a-half hours this afternoon, escalating protected industrial action amid stalled negotiations with the state government over pay and conditions. The Together Union says members have been left with no choice as the government fails to address chronic understaffing and excessive caseloads.
One Nation's general manager has defended the party's use of $56,000 in party funds to build a shed on James Ashby's private property, describing the micro-distillery project as an 'unconventional' fundraising move. The defence comes after the party admitted the expense in an email to members, where it said the money had been lent to a party-linked company.
· 6 sourcesFour people have been charged with attempted unlawful killing after a 37-year-old man was shot in the stomach while walking near bushland in Perth’s southern suburb of Hamilton Hill earlier this month.
· 4 sourcesFormer West Coast Eagles premiership player Mark Hutchings has announced the sudden death of his partner Hannah, who died two days after giving birth to their daughter Sofia. In a social media post, Hutchings said he was 'shattered' by the loss and expressed that Hannah had been looking forward to motherhood.
Australian actress and producer Delvene Delaney has returned to Kakadu National Park, four decades after the release of the blockbuster film Crocodile Dundee, where she reunited with the restored safari truck from the original movie and reflected on memories of her late husband, John Cornell.
Tasmanian Liberal MPs will be allowed a conscience vote on a Greens bill to ban conversion practices, Police Minister Felix Ellis has announced, confirming he will vote against the legislation. The bill, which would make it illegal to attempt to suppress or change a person's sexual or gender identity, is expected to be debated in state parliament this year.
A return flight from Brisbane to the Queensland outback town of Longreach can cost more than an interstate or overseas trip, a resident has discovered, as two separate reviews examine the affordability of regional airfares. John Elliott was 'staggered' to find a $1,386 return fare booked five days in advance — equivalent to a last-minute Qantas flight to Auckland and only $450 less than a budget flight to Singapore.
· 2 sourcesA $1 billion waste processing plant proposed for the historic Kandos Cement Works site near Mudgee is at the centre of a dispute between developer Cenagen and the New South Wales government, with Environment Minister Penny Sharpe arguing the project falls under the state's energy-from-waste framework and cannot proceed outside designated precincts.
· 2 sourcesFrogs in Australia's oldest national park showed higher rates of a deadly fungal infection in waterways exposed to wastewater from the Metropolitan Mine compared to unexposed areas, according to a new study published last month in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances.
· 2 sourcesAustralia dramatically revealed at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that a rogue OpenAI agent breached its Medicare system — the first known incident of its kind globally — as the federal government confirmed it may change Australian laws if the current framework cannot respond to AI-driven cyber attacks.
· 9 sourcesA Fremantle tattoo shop is gearing up for an all-night session this Saturday, with a selection of Flagmantle designs ready to ink on fans if the Dockers win their first AFL premiership against the Brisbane Lions.
· 6 sourcesA 16-year-old boy was held for 22 hours a day in a cramped cell at an adult maximum-security prison in Victoria for weeks, conditions that the state ombudsman has found breached his human rights and 'bordered on solitary confinement,' according to a report tabled in parliament on Thursday.
A sleek, rust-coloured processing facility in Tamworth, designed to resemble a modern art gallery, is set to process three million chickens a week — a fifth of all chickens eaten in Australia — but experts and advocates question whether its architectural ambition will translate into meaningful animal welfare improvements.
· 2 sourcesA 14-year-old girl in Western Australia's state care was left overnight in a Geraldton police lock-up and appeared in court without a guardian present, prompting a magistrate to condemn the Department of Communities as 'appalling' and to lodge a formal complaint.
The family of three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer, who disappeared from a Wollongong beach in 1970, has given NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney-General Michael Daley a September 29 deadline to order an independent audit of the 56-year-old cold case, warning they will seek government records through supportive members of the Legislative Council if the government does not respond.
Western Power has terminated three employees who provided positive character references for a colleague convicted of raping a female coworker on a work trip in 2024, the state-owned utility announced. The sackings follow a 'thorough investigation' and an order from WA Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson for an inquiry into the case.
A former senior employee of the National Gallery of Victoria has been charged with stealing $8 million from the institution over six years by purchasing mobile phones on the gallery's account and reselling them for personal gain, Victoria's anti-corruption body announced.
· 2 sourcesA woman has been killed and two people have been seriously injured following a multi-vehicle crash involving a coach in Victoria's Yarra Ranges, according to latest reports on Friday, September 25. The collision occurred at around 2:40pm on Thursday on the Melba Highway at Glenburn, when a bus carrying 18 people collided with two cars.
· 5 sourcesAustralia's unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in August, its highest level since November 2021, new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show. Despite the increase, the Reserve Bank is widely expected to raise the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.6% at its board meeting next Tuesday, as it continues its fight to bring inflation under control.
· 4 sourcesA visibly moved Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hugged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York as the two nations signed a landmark 10-year defence pact, cementing Australia's commitment to Ukraine's long-term security.
· 3 sourcesEconomists report that Australians are increasingly seeking additional work to cope with rising living expenses and anticipated higher mortgage repayments, as new data shows unemployment has reached its highest level since the pandemic.
· 2 sourcesAlan Jones's former butler has told a Sydney court the radio host would greet a high-profile complainant with a hug and a 'slap on the bottom' during visits to his luxury apartment, as the broadcaster faces 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching.
· 2 sourcesAustralia's unemployment rate rose to 4.6 per cent in August, the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, as the labour force expanded faster than employment growth. The data, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, comes amid widespread expectations that the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates next week.
· 2 sourcesThe Bluff coal mine in central Queensland has been abandoned after its owner Bowen Coking Coal entered voluntary administration, with liquidators disclaiming the mining lease and leaving the state government to manage rehabilitation of the still-active site.
· 2 sourcesA former Northern Territory Police assistant commissioner has taken legal action after a deepfake sexually explicit video created from her official photograph was allegedly shared among serving members of the force. Janelle Tonkin said the incident was 'extremely distressing' and part of broader problems within the NT Police Force.
The Victorian government has introduced a 150-metre setback rule for new data centre buildings from residential areas, part of a broader action plan that industry groups warn could make many projects economically unviable and drive investment to other states.
The European Union has warned Donald Trump that his planned ban on US diesel exports would "negatively impact both sides", as global markets shuddered under the threat of fuel shortages and oil prices surged past $103 a barrel.
· 7 sourcesA majority of Territory Labor's caucus have publicly contradicted their party's official position on fracking, with four of the opposition's six elected members confirming they personally oppose the controversial gas extraction technique — directly at odds with Opposition Leader Selena Uibo's stated support for a "strictly regulated" industry.
· 2 sourcesJehovah's Witnesses have announced a fundamental shift in their long-standing opposition to blood transfusions, allowing individual members to decide whether to accept red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma or platelets. The change, announced last Friday by Governing Body member Geoffrey W Jackson, has been met with anger from families who lost loved ones under the previous blanket prohibition.
The Victorian Labor government is putting reproductive rights at the centre of its election campaign, announcing new portable ultrasound machines for sexual and reproductive health hubs and warning that One Nation could use abortion access as a bargaining chip with the Coalition in a hung parliament.
· 2 sourcesNew research casts doubt on claims that Labor’s tax reforms will hit property investors hard, suggesting most may actually pay less capital gains tax under the changes announced in the May budget.
· 2 sourcesThe Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) has been accused of running a 'scare campaign' ahead of the Victorian election, after leaked documents revealed a lobbying paper warning that reversing the state's ban on gas in new homes would save households $100 annually on gas bills — a claim experts have disputed as unsupported.
· 2 sourcesThe average price of a basket of essential groceries rose 7 per cent at Australia's four major supermarket chains between March and June, according to new government-funded research from consumer group Choice.
· 2 sourcesCounter-terrorism officers have arrested a 65-year-old Carlton man following a years-long covert investigation, alleging he is a key propagandist for the Islamic State terror group.
· 3 sourcesMore than half of Australians aged 18 to 29 were living with their parents in 2024, up from 39 per cent in 2001, according to the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, which paints a mixed picture of rising housing stress, high employment and widespread over-qualification in the workforce.
· 2 sourcesAshleigh Ann Seeney, a 28-year-old physical education teacher, has been arrested and charged as an accessory over an alleged conspiracy to murder a man involved in a conflict within an organised crime network in Sydney.
· 3 sourcesAngry Anderson, the iconic Australian rock singer and frontman of Rose Tattoo, has died at the age of 79. His family and bandmates announced the death on Monday, saying he passed away surrounded by loved ones in Australia, weeks after suffering a cardiac arrest while on tour in Germany in August.
· 8 sourcesFirearms dealers have tearfully described losing retirement savings and being forced to sell their homes, as the Minns government's post-Bondi gun laws take effect. Families who rallied at NSW Parliament on Wednesday say the state's buyback scheme – offering grants of up to $25,000 – does nothing to compensate for losses that in one case exceeded $800,000. Six crossbenchers are working to block the buyback regulations and repeal new ownership limits.
· 2 sourcesNew reporting reveals a hidden culture of youth gambling in the private school system, with students sneaking off to place bets and openly discussing what they are gambling on, while researchers warn it remains far too easy for underage teenagers to set up betting accounts.
· 3 sourcesA Coalition proposal to allow Australians to use their superannuation as mortgage collateral is facing sharp criticism as a threat to retirement savings, even as some voices argue the idea should be explored to address contemporary economic problems.
· 6 sourcesA damning report from Victoria's Auditor-General has found no evidence that the state government's $40 million Youth Crime Prevention Program reduces youth offending, with about two-thirds of participants reoffending within six months of joining the initiative.
· 4 sourcesThe parents of missing toddler Gus Lamont have issued a desperate plea for any information about their son's disappearance, marking one year since he vanished.
· 6 sourcesWith federal government debt surpassing $1 trillion, former treasurer Joe Hockey has warned that meaningful economic reform will not occur until a financial crisis forces the nation to take 'the medicine', while current treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged that political power today is more effective at blocking change than building it.
· 2 sourcesAustralian basketball prospect Dash Daniels enters a high-stakes NBL season with NBA draft aspirations, beginning against the team he played for last season — now his club's fiercest rival.
· 3 sourcesOpposition Leader Angus Taylor has vowed to repeal a raft of emissions reduction and renewable energy policies within a month of being elected prime minister, including scrapping vehicle emissions standards, removing the legislated net zero by 2050 target, and revoking several offshore wind zones. The announcement has prompted Labor to accuse the Coalition of intending to 'let climate change rip'.