Articles about Australia

How much fuel does Australia have left today, and when could we run out? Check how much petrol and diesel prices have risen near you in Sydney, Melbourne and across the country since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began in late FebruaryGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHundreds of service stations across Australia have run empty, fuel prices are elevated and oil shipments have been cancelled.Australia is battling a fuel crisis as Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz continues to bite. The federal government has released fuel reserves, cut fuel excise taxes and rolled out a national fuel security plan. Continue reading...

State upper house MP runs unopposed after initially being dropped during a preselection challenge. Follow today’s news liveGood morning, and happy Monday. Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news. Let’s dive in. Continue reading...

South Asian Muslim and caste-oppressed Hindu community representatives accuse multiculturalism minister and department of discriminationGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint against the New South Wales multiculturalism minister and his department over allegations of racial discrimination against organisations representing south Asian Muslims and caste-oppressed Hindu communities.According to an email seen by Guardian Australia, the Human Rights Commission last month accepted the complaint, against Steve Kamper and his department, for investigation. Continue reading...

Federal government chases supply guarantees from countries including Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan amid Iran warGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAsian trading partners have reassured Australia that the “normal supply” of fuel will continue amid the Middle East conflict, as the government prepares to intensify efforts to avert shortages of petrol and diesel.The federal government has been chasing supply guarantees from countries including Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan as the Iran war and closure of the strait of Hormuz wreaks havoc on the global oil market. Continue reading...

Police allege drugs were to be collected from a drop-zone in Bass Strait and distributed across the nation using trucking connectionsWhen a commercial trawler sank off Victoria with four crew members needing rescuing, police became suspicious about an alleged drug trafficking operation.Nine men are accused over a conspiracy to import tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine before distributing the drugs across Australia using trucking connections. Continue reading...

Health minister Mark Butler says federal government is ‘not negotiating’ when it comes to removing price protections on common medicationsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia will not cave in to pressure from pharmaceutical giants and the Trump administration by removing consumer price protections on common medications, the health minister, Mark Butler says.Donald Trump imposed a new 100% tariff on branded pharmaceuticals imported into the US overnight, Australian time, trying to force manufacturers to agree to drug-pricing deals or commit to making their products domestically. Continue reading...

Visa ban makes Iranian-Australian feel her adopted country is a ‘home that doesn’t support you’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHedieh Jamshidian feared the window to see her mother, living in Tehran under waves of airstrikes, was closing.The Australian government had just announced it could block some visa holders from entering the country. So, Jamshidian, a 32-year-old Iranian Australian, decided to act quickly. Within a week she bought her mother, who held a three-month tourist visa, a ticket to Sydney. Continue reading...

The Bureau of Meteorology says a blend of fine days and showers expected for most capital cities over the coming daysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMany Australians can expect mild temperatures and a chance of showers over the Easter weekend, while meteorologists predict a cyclone will form in the Coral Sea on Sunday.The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a blend of fine days and showers for most capital cities over the coming days. Continue reading...

Opposition leader calls for the prime minister to give more details about the fuel crisisGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the breaking stories before Natasha May takes the helm.Anthony Albanese used a rare address to the nation to attempt to allay public fears over dwindling fuel supplies, vowing to keep petrol prices down by shoring up international supplies and ramping up local production. Continue reading...

Two-thirds of teenagers are still on social media platforms included in the ban, according to the eSafety commissionerFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen the age assurance technology trial released its final report before Australia’s under-16s social media ban came into effect last year, its first finding was: age assurance can be done privately, efficiently and effectively.Four months since the ban came into effect, we can say that was – to paraphrase Yes Minister – a courageous statement. Continue reading...

Track the latest data on fuel prices, outages and oil tanker deliveriesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHundreds of service stations across Australia have run empty, fuel prices are elevated and oil shipments have been cancelled.Australia is battling a fuel crises as Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz continues to bite. The federal government has released fuel reserves, cut fuel excise taxes and rolled out a national fuel security plan. Continue reading...

Exmouth local says devastating impact on wildlife along the coastline is ‘hard to put into words’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereAs the flooding from Tropical Cyclone Narelle’s violent visit to Exmouth subsided and the winds dropped, Brinkley Davies headed to Graveyards beach.The beach, at least according to some Exmouth locals, got its name because of the tendency for turtles to get stuck on the dunes. Continue reading...

Adelaide has the biggest price decline, with unleaded down 24.9 cents and diesel down 21.3 centsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFuel prices have started falling immediately across Australia in the wake of the government’s fuel excise cut, unexpectedly accelerating the delivery of the Albanese government’s cost-of-living relief.Prices in capital cities paused then plummeted on Wednesday, after the prime minister announced the tax on petrol and diesel would be halved to 26.3 cents a litre. Continue reading...

Trans and gender-diverse people experience ‘significant and preventable barriers to their safety and dignity’, report findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe sex discrimination commissioner says there has been a concerted disinformation campaign against transgender rights since Australia’s postal survey on same-sex marriage.The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on Tuesday – coinciding with international trans day of visibility – finding that trans and gender-diverse people experience “significant and preventable barriers to their safety, dignity and full participation in society” spanning healthcare, housing, education, employment and public life. Continue reading...

Scientists tracked bird population in Canberra’s botanic gardens and found climate impacts starting to affect themFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA common and well-loved bird of bush and garden could go extinct within 30-40 years due to the weather impacts of climate change, researchers say.Data derived from nearly 30 years of weekly observations tracked the lives of superb fairy wrens in Canberra’s botanic gardens, noting the changing weather’s impacts on them. Continue reading...

Government in February approved an average premium increase of 4.41% from today. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia contributing to offensive action in Strait of Hormuz ‘in national interest’, says shadow foreign ministerThe opposition says we should be “open” to sending assets and personnel to open up the Strait of Hormuz, but questioned Australia’s capability.The key question is, is it in our national interest? And my view is yes, it is. The second question is, what can we contribute in a material sense, that part of the equation we are yet to understand? And I think they’re the two questions that need to be answered … but I believe we should be open to making contribution. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Capital gains tax discount and negative gearing rules created ‘extra artificial incentive’ for property speculation, the e61 Institute has foundGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe combination of the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing rules has turbocharged debt-fuelled property speculation over recent decades, according to a new analysis of hundreds of thousands of property investments.The federal budget in three weeks’ time is widely expected to include changes to tax breaks for investors, in an effort to rebalance the tax system away from the wealthiest Australians and to take pressure off home prices. Continue reading...

Nearly 70% of under-16s with accounts on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok had maintained access, survey findsThe Australian government has accused big tech firms like Meta, TikTok and Google of disobeying the landmark ban on under-16s using social media, after the country’s online safety office warned many children had accounts.A survey of 900 Australian parents found around a third (31%) said their children still had one or more social media accounts after the ban, compared to 49% before the laws. Continue reading...

Union celebrates ‘landmark decision’ that will mean adults aged 20 or younger are no longer paid lessFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHalf a million young Australians working in the retail, fast food and pharmacy sectors are set for a wage increase after the Fair Work Commission abolished junior pay rates for those aged 18 and over.The wage rises will be phased in over four years in a landmark change that unions compared to the introduction of equal pay for women in the 1970s. Continue reading...

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the changes would help with the cost of living and that ‘Australians hate paying’ the surchargesDebit and credit card surcharges will be gone by October under Reserve Bank reforms, with big banks likely to foot the bill for the cost-of-living measures.The new rules, announced on Tuesday, will enable businesses to remove added fees on Mastercard, visa and eftpos card payments. Continue reading...

‘There is no doubt that the cells and tissues of the oral cavity, the mouth and the lungs are altered by inhalation from e-cigarettes,’ academic saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVaping is likely to cause lung and oral cancer, researchers have found, as they urged regulators to act now rather than wait decades for a definitive level of risk.Cancer researchers led by UNSW in Sydney analysed reviews of evidence from animal studies, human case reports and laboratory research published between 2017 and 2025, in one of the most detailed assessments to date of whether nicotine e-cigarettes could cause cancer. Continue reading...

Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube being investigated as eSafety releases update on compliance with social media ban. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for another busy sitting day.Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are being investigated for “potential non-compliance” under the social media ban, with the eSafety commissioner releasing a compliance update today. Continue reading...

Flow-on effect will depend on how quickly service stations sell more expensive fuel, experts warn, leaving Easter travel plans up in the airGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians expecting relief from punishing fuel prices in time for Easter travel are set to be disappointed, with the industry predicting the effects of Labor temporarily halving the excise will take days or weeks to reach some bowsers around the country.The halving of the fuel excise, which begins on Wednesday and lasts until the end of June, means the federal government will now collect 26.3c from every litre over the next three months instead of 52.6c a litre. Continue reading...

Jack Karlson’s rallying cry of ‘democracy manifest’ added to national collection of sound recordings that hold historical, cultural and aesthetic significanceGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThirty-five years ago, when Jack Karlson was hauled into a police car outside a Chinese restaurant in Queensland, he couldn’t have known his bombastic speech would be watched by millions around the world, become a meme and now, be preserved for ever in Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive.Karlson’s declaration – “Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest! … What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?” – is one of nine pieces of audio that have been added to the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia collection this year, along with a pedestrian crossing signal and Missy Higgins’ 2004 hit Scar. Continue reading...

Survey also found 65% of gen Z think ‘things are better if men do paid work and women do care work’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastYounger fathers are more likely to cling to outdated ideas that frame men as the money earners and women as caregivers, new research has found.The Australian State of the World’s Fathers report is based on a global survey of 8,000 parents, with 533 from Australia. Continue reading...

Dry ground, iron-rich earth and strong winds combined to create an eerie dust storm that was filmed in DenhamGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe skies of Shark Bay in Western Australia turned an eerie blood red before Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall, a phenomenon an expert said was caused by an iron-infused dust storm.Narelle crossed into WA on Friday, hitting the state roughly 900km north of Perth in the food bowl region. Continue reading...

South Korea’s transport ministry says domestic airlines have asked authorities to redirect export-bound jet fuel back to the local market amid a supply crunch• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSouth Korean airlines have asked their government to help redirect jet fuel exports to the domestic market, threatening half of Australia’s imports of the critical fuel after Chinese authorities earlier this month flagged export restrictions.Amid deepening concerns across Asia about the impact of the escalating Middle East conflict, an official at South Korea’s transport ministry told the Guardian that “some domestic carriers” had asked authorities to redirect export-bound jet fuel back to the local market due to supply concerns. Continue reading...

Move comes five days after Jim Chalmers said Labor was not considering cutting the fuel exciseAnthony Albanese has slashed the fuel excise in half in a move which will save motorists 26 cents a litre, and is encouraging people to take public transport where they can, as the national cabinet announces a plan to manage the petrol crisis.Following a meeting of state and federal leaders on Monday, leaders also agreed to reduce the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero for three months, in a bid to support truck drivers. Continue reading...

Porepunkah fugitive, 56, had been on the run after killing two police officers in Australian alpine region in AugustFull story: Dezi Freeman shot dead by policeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWayne Gatt, secretary of the Police Association Victoria, issued a statement a little earlier confirming the man fatally shot was Dezi Freeman.He said:Our members said they would find him. They did.Closure isn’t the right word. This represents a step forward for our members, for the families of our fallen members and for the community. It doesn’t lessen the trauma, give back the futures that were callously stolen or lessen the collective fear and grief that this tragic event has instilled in police and the wider public.They have worked tirelessly. During the emergency, in the operation that followed and the months thereafter, members across the state have devoted themselves to this singular pursuit. Days like today offer a sobering reminder that policing happens while you sleep, when the media spotlight on an investigation dims and when everything seems lost and forgotten.RIP Vadim and Neal. Today, we remember you. Continue reading...

More assistance to businesses amid ballooning petrol prices expected to be discussed as prime minister and premiers meet. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, Krishani Dhanji with you here for the final sitting week of the month, and the final sitting week before the budget.The prime minister will convene the national cabinet again today, the second since the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. And this morning the government will introduce legislation to underwrite fuel supplies into Australia. Continue reading...