Articles about Australian

One Nation and Coalition adopting reactionary tactics to win over frustrated and fearful voters, frontbencher Andrew Giles saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPauline Hanson and rightwing populists are cynically exploiting the frustrations of Australians who feel forgotten by government or left behind by poor education and job opportunities, Labor frontbencher Andrew Giles says.Accusing One Nation and the Coalition of adopting cynical and reactionary tactics to win over frustrated and fearful voters, Giles says better education is critical to stopping disenfranchisement with government and a weakening of democracy in Australia. Continue reading...

Energy minister says country’s fuel supply has yet to be affected by war, following meeting with suppliers and retailersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChris Bowen has insisted the country’s fuel supply is yet to be affected by the war in the Middle East while criticising a rush to buy jerry cans to fill up with petrol as “un-Australian”.The energy minister made the comments after an emergency meeting with major fuel suppliers and retailers, that was convened by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to demand explanations for the recent surge in petrol prices. Continue reading...

Exclusive: eSafety commission pointed to Musk’s promise that ‘removing child exploitation is priority #1’ in letter obtained by Guardian Australia The Australian online safety regulator warned Elon Musk’s X amid the Grok sexualised image generation scandal that it found child abuse material was “particularly systemic” on X and more accessible than “any other mainstream service”, correspondence obtained by Guardian Australia reveals.The eSafety commissioner wrote to X in January after its chatbot Grok was used to generate sexualised images of women and children online, in what the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described as “abhorrent”. Continue reading...

NRMA says record-high fuel may be here to stay in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane after prices soared early in the Middle East conflictFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDozens of service stations across Australia have run out of petrol as distributors struggle to keep up with customers panic-buying as the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt prices.The NRMA has warned regulators “missed” the chance to stop price hikes, as booming wholesale demand pushes fuel prices to a “permanent high” on the east coast. Continue reading...

NSW police allege child was sitting on lap of 45-year-old man who was experiencing ‘significant fatigue’ but was operating pedals while boy steeredFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA nine-year-old boy has allegedly been caught driving a car after 1am on a major highway in New South Wales.In a statement on Monday, NSW police alleged that a 45-year-old driver was experiencing “significant fatigue” and “operating the pedals” while the boy steered on his lap. Continue reading...

David Pocock’s comments come as new photos show scale of damage and government official says its ‘quite possible’ bodies disturbedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe bodies of Australian soldiers buried in Gaza have “very likely” been disturbed, the independent senator David Pocock says, as new photos tendered to parliament show widespread damage of graves by Israeli bulldozers.About 146 of the 263 graves of Australian soldiers buried in Gaza have been damaged, Senate estimates heard last week. Continue reading...

The New Scientist Book Club enjoyed our February read, Tim Winton's far-future-set Juice. Head of books Alison Flood rounds up member thoughts