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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 6 of 43
The dramatic rescue of a driver from a sinking car in floodwaters north of Brisbane has gained international attention, after ABC journalist Will Murray told the BBC there was no hesitation when he saw a four-wheel-drive disappear into the water. 'There was no thinking involved,' Murray said. 'Better that you jump in and give it a crack.'
· 8 sourcesGrant Hutchinson, the dumped Liberal candidate for Croydon, has sent a legal letter to the Victorian Liberal Party challenging his termination, alleging the state executive breached its own constitution when it removed him and selected a replacement just six weeks from the November 28 election.
· 5 sourcesFormer reality television star and wellness influencer Sam Wood will go to the Queensland supreme court seeking release from custody, more than two weeks after he was denied bail over allegations he choked and assaulted his wife.
Hundreds of thousands of Australian small businesses could be forced to undertake annual risk assessments under proposed federal online safety laws, with the small business sector warning the compliance burden could reach even local hairdressers, cafes and tradies. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) is calling for exemptions for low-risk operators.
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, alongside former Blues Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and Sam Docherty, is a part-owner of Cox Plate favourite Birdman, after former assistant coach John Barker brokered an introduction to prominent racehorse owner Ozzie Kheir during a chance meeting in Bali.
· 3 sourcesA 40-year-old man has been charged over a hit-and-run crash that killed a cyclist in Perth's southern suburbs on Tuesday morning. Father of two Joseph Paratore, 40, was riding his bike on North Lake Road in Bibra Lake when he was struck by a four-wheel drive about 5:20am and died at the scene.
· 10 sourcesProsecutors have conceded that the deportation of alleged Sydney underworld figure Masood Zakaria from Turkey was illegal, a significant development in his bid to have double murder and conspiracy charges permanently thrown out. The admission came on the fourth day of hearings in the NSW Supreme Court.
· 4 sourcesHouse prices in most parts of regional NSW and Victoria are still higher than a year ago, even as every Australian capital city recorded a quarterly decline for the first time in 15 years, the latest Domain House Price Report shows. The divergence highlights how rising interest rates, cost-of-living pressures and federal tax changes are hitting city markets harder than their regional counterparts.
· 8 sourcesTwo-time Australian sprint champion Jake Doran has been charged with indecent treatment of a child under 16 in Queensland. The 26-year-old athlete was arrested by Townsville police last week and bailed to reappear on November 5. Australian Athletics has imposed a provisional ban prohibiting him from attending any national, state or club events or training sessions.
· 4 sourcesOne in four Australian workers are being underpaid superannuation by their employers, costing about $6 billion each year, with only about 15 per cent ever recovered by the Australian Taxation Office, independent reports show. Two Brisbane oral health therapists who won complaints against their employer 18 months ago say they still have not seen a cent returned to their super funds.
· 2 sourcesThe first severe thunderstorm of the season is forecast to hit Brisbane on Thursday morning, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing flash flooding warnings from the Sunshine Coast to the state border. The storm has already dumped more than 100 millimetres of rain on Caboolture and Morayfield in two hours, and is expected to move across the city's western suburbs by early morning.
· 3 sourcesBen Roberts-Smith has denied allegations of murder in an interview with 2GB's Ben Fordham after being charged with five counts of war crime-murder.
· 7 sourcesThe Australian Defence Force has confirmed that the six-wheel model of Supacat transporter that rolled and killed Corporal Brendan Hannam on October 5 had previously tipped over in a 2020 training exercise, and the ABC has revealed that the UK variant of the vehicle has been involved in more than 30 rollovers, including one that killed a Scottish reservist.
Hospital officials have upgraded independent federal MP Helen Haines' condition to serious but stable, an improvement from critical but stable, five days after she was allegedly run down outside her electoral office in Wangaratta. The 65-year-old had both legs amputated in the days following the attack.
· 18 sourcesAn organic recycling company has accused the Western Australian government of an over-reliance on landfill and called for stricter waste laws to recover nutrients for farming, as farmers report cost-effective benefits from compost made from organic waste.
· 4 sourcesA report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found hospitalisations from e-scooter incidents have more than tripled over the past five years, driven primarily by a surge in injuries among teenage boys. Boys aged 12 to 15 were 15 times more likely to end up in hospital from an e-scooter fall in 2024/25 than they were in 2019/20, and four times more likely than girls in the same age group.
· 2 sourcesHouse prices across Australian capital cities fell 4.7% in the September quarter, the steepest quarterly drop on record, according to Domain data released Thursday. Perth recorded the largest decline at 7.4%, marking the biggest quarterly fall ever for that city, as all capitals moved into negative territory for the first time in 15 years.
· 6 sourcesIndependent ACT senator David Pocock has used his first National Press Club address to rule out a tilt at the prime ministership, instead outlining plans for a new alliance of community independents and proposing significant taxes on gas exports and data centres.
· 4 sourcesFederal parliamentarians were urgently briefed on Wednesday on personal security by the AFP, ASIO, and Home Affairs following the alleged targeted attack on independent MP Helen Haines, which resulted in critical injuries and the amputation of both legs. The AFP warned it is prosecuting threats against politicians at a rate of almost one a week.
· 5 sourcesPolice have until Christmas Eve to give defence lawyers their evidence against the man accused of attacking Australian MP Helen Haines, with his next scheduled court appearance set for February 4, 2027. Brendan Nugent, 43, was remanded in custody after appearing at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
· 4 sourcesBrisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has revealed a spate of threats against councillors and staff has prompted a security overhaul at City Hall, including de-escalation training for employees. Warning against rising aggression in public debate, Schrinner said Australia risked emulating the United States' history of political violence unless the toxic discourse is cooled.
· 4 sourcesA secret recording at the centre of a long-running defamation trial involving Western Australian politicians, businessmen and former journalists has been publicly released after a judge accepted it into evidence. The tape captures property developer Greg Poland advising businessman Aaron Grainger on how to obtain a Myalup sand mining operation in exchange for helping the state government dispose of contaminated soil from a Metronet project.
· 4 sourcesA man has been arrested after allegedly entering the electorate office of Western Australian MP Hannah Beazley armed with nunchucks, just days after federal MP Helen Haines was seriously injured in an attack outside her own office.
· 7 sourcesThe Australian Federal Police encouraged Turkish authorities to deport Masood Zakaria weeks before his arrest at a seaside villa, a court has heard, as his lawyers argue his return to Australia was an illegal kidnapping that should see murder charges against him permanently stayed.
· 4 sourcesBritish musician Lily Allen has cancelled her Auckland concert hours before it was due to start, citing a viral infection, just two days before the Australian leg of her tour was set to begin. Tour promoter Frontier said on Wednesday that Allen is resting and intends to complete the Australian dates as scheduled.
· 3 sourcesThe Australian Federal Police has warned that teenagers are being radicalised online in a matter of days, telling a parliamentary committee that social media networks are grooming, blackmailing and turning vulnerable young people into perpetrators of serious crimes.
A 74-year-old Kyneton antiques dealer has been convicted and fined $10,000 after Victoria's Conservation Regulator found more than 700 dead native animals and 15 live reptiles during a raid on his home and antique store.
· 3 sourcesNew South Wales has become the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise human composting, with the state parliament passing a private member's bill that will allow bodies to be transformed into soil. Several MPs declared during debate that they would choose the process, known legally as terramation, for themselves after death.
· 5 sourcesAustralian Federal Police have warned that the country faces a 'tsunami of youth crime' as artificial intelligence speeds up the radicalisation of young people from months to days, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
· 2 sourcesBeau Lamarre-Condon, the NSW police officer on trial for the murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, played Taylor Swift's No Body, No Crime while driving a van during an alleged attempt to dispose of the two bodies, the NSW supreme court has heard.
· 3 sourcesMore than 300 university students and staff marched on Parliament House on Wednesday to protest the proposed merger of three Western Australian universities, as the Liberal party formally rejected the plan and Labor faced a steep climb to pass the necessary legislation through the upper house.
· 4 sourcesIndependent MP Helen Haines has had both legs amputated and remains in a critical condition in hospital, two days after police allege a man deliberately rammed her with a four-wheel drive outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. A man charged over the incident faced court on Wednesday and her community gathered for a vigil, where her predecessor urged residents not to retreat from public life.
· 18 sourcesDavid Fifita has conceded he came close to walking away from the NRL during a harrowing period of his career, but is now preparing to make his Australian debut at the Rugby League World Cup. The South Sydney Rabbitohs forward credits his resurgence to a reunion with coach Wayne Bennett and a strong support system that helped him through a deeply personal low point.
· 4 sourcesThe man accused of driving a four-wheel drive into independent MP Helen Haines did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until February, a court has heard. Police have revealed they had no prior intelligence about Brendan Nugent, as federal authorities confirm threats against parliamentarians have risen fourfold this decade.
· 9 sourcesA former top ministerial staffer found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct is no longer employed by the ACT public service, the acting head of the territory's public service has confirmed, following findings from the ACT Integrity Commission.
Australian basketball great Sandy Brondello has been inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, capping a turbulent year in which she feared a single on-court remark had permanently tarnished her legacy. Brondello, the coach of the Toronto Tempo and the Australian Opals, told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age she was 'quite stressed for a while' after the suspension over her 'protected species' comment towards WNBA star Angel Reese. The phrase, a common Australianism expressing frustration with officiating, was deemed derogatory towards black people in the United States.
· 4 sourcesAustralian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett has revealed that one person is charged each week with threatening a federal politician, as safety fears mount among elected representatives and police grow increasingly alarmed by the volume of online abuse directed at them.
· 4 sourcesAshleigh Gardner scored 84 runs as Australia retained the Rose Bowl in their women's Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, according to ABC News.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has admitted driving away from a service station without paying on Monday night, revealing he forgot to pay and rectified the bill the next day. The admission, delivered in a statement this morning, came as the final day of the Melbourne Assembly civic forum kicked off, where both Labor and the Coalition are pursuing sharply different election strategies ahead of the November 28 poll.
· 9 sourcesIndependent MP Helen Haines remains in a critical but stable condition at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, a week after she was struck by a vehicle outside her Wangaratta electorate office, losing both legs. Brendan Nugent, 43, has been remanded in custody on charges arising from the incident. His lawyer told the court he has a rare neurological condition. The court ordered an urgent mental health assessment.
· 24 sourcesThe steering committee tasked with evaluating the proposed mega-merger of three Western Australian universities has been accused of having a preordained outcome, with a majority of its members holding ties to the University of Western Australia, the only institution publicly supporting the proposal.
· 4 sourcesSydney Morning Herald's Column 8 has brought together readers with shared memories of a former National Service member, a comedian's school days, and an entomological singalong, in a collection of anecdotes published on Tuesday.
· 4 sourcesQueensland Corrective Services has launched a review into allegations that an Aboriginal mother was shackled to her bed by her ankle and wrist following a caesarean birth at Townsville University Hospital, while her newborn baby was in the neonatal intensive care unit. Hospital staff reported the incident, describing the mother's deteriorating condition and alleging racist remarks by prison officers, prompting renewed calls for a ban on the practice.
· 4 sourcesA boy has been charged with eight offences after more than 20 shots were fired into a Gosnells home, Western Australian police say.
A three-day hearing in the Land and Environment Court has begun in Moss Vale, hearing an appeal by developer Nakar Property against Wingecarribee Shire Council's refusal of a 16-megawatt gas-fired power plant and battery storage system. Community members and traditional landowners told the court the cumulative impacts of this and associated projects on the site are being overlooked by fragmented planning decisions.
· 2 sourcesBrendon Nugent has been charged with three offenses, including intentionally causing injury, over the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines. Haines remains in a critical condition in hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery after losing a leg, with surgeons working to save the other. Police allege the incident was a deliberate attack.
· 17 sourcesVictorian Coroner Paul Lawrie has found that an online gambling addiction was the 'direct and paramount' causative factor in the suicide of 22-year-old Kyle Hudson, delivering a devastating rebuke to wagering giant Sportsbet. The coroner rejected the company's argument that Hudson was not a problem gambler, describing its defence as 'chilling' given repeated missed warnings and hundreds of targeted inducements.
· 4 sourcesA 23-year-old man has been jailed for 4½ years in the Perth District Court over a ram raid and arson attack on a Midland tobacco shop, a crime he carried out for an organised crime gang for a $5,000 payment.
· 3 sources