Australia News

Australische popster voert nummer Eclipse uit in tweede semifinale voor de finale van zondag. Volg het nieuws van vandaag live Ontvang onze breaking news-e-mail, gratis app of dagelijkse nieuwspodcast Er was een harp. Er was een glinsterende jurk. Veel rook. Een halve maan. Ja, er was een modulatie halverwege het nummer, in de beste tradities van de Eurovision-kitsch. Lees verder...

Former Liberal party leader resigned as member for Farrer after she was dumped as opposition leader. Follow updates liveThe upcoming federal budget will include an extra $2bn over four years to fund infrastructure like roads, water, power and sewerage that will help build up to 65,000 new homes, the Albanese government announced on Saturday night.The new funding, to be formally announced on Tuesday, will help fund necessary infrastructure to finish housing projects that would otherwise face expensive hurdles. It will be provided to local governments and state utility providers, and a quarter of those funds, some $500m, will be reserved exclusively for regional Australia.Building more homes is a big focus of this Budget and a big focus of the Albanese Government. …Right now, it’s too hard for too many Australians to get into their own home and get ahead and that’s why we’re investing in supply. Our housing plan is pro-aspiration and it’s pro-investment.We are considering options for the safe repatriation of the four Australians and permanent resident. Our priority is the safety of the community. Continue reading...

Woman arrested at Sydney airport after arriving back from Syria last night; two more women face charges in Melbourne. Follow updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.A woman who arrived back in Australia last night after spending more than seven years in Syrian detention camps will appear at Downing Centre local court this morning charged with allegedly entering a declared conflict zone and joining Islamic State. More coming up. Continue reading...

Mining company cannot appeal against liability for 2015 dam collapse in Brazil. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.A man has been charged by police in New South Wales with an alleged hate speech offence in relation to a protest by a neo-Nazi group outside NSW parliament in November last year. More coming. Continue reading...

Lenders increase borrowing rates by 0.25%; pro-Palestine meeting barred from council venue goes ahead outside in Darlington. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNext week’s federal budget will fund a dedicated national centre to detect and disrupt the evolving threat of online violent extremism and terrorism.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, will announce the $74m in funding over two years for the project on Wednesday. It is part of the government’s response to the Bondi terror attack in December.A bolstered online threat capability will give AFP and Asio the resources they need to target terrorists and violent extremists online.Just because I, and other people, might find it personally offensive does not mean that governments have unlimited power to constitutionally strike down the right of everybody else to freedom of political communication. Continue reading...

MV Hondius remains off the coast of Cape Verde after a suspected respiratory virus outbreak killed three people and left three more seriously ill. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Stephanie Convery with the main action.Mortgage holders are set to be hundreds of dollars worse off per month than they were at the start of the year as the Reserve Bank prepares to unload a third consecutive interest rate hike on borrowers. More coming up. Continue reading...

Treasurer says next week’s budget will save more than it spends. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government is boasting of making bigger than usual savings in next week’s budget, with Jim Chalmers saying his fourth budget will have “more restraint”.The treasurer said:Responsible economic management has been a hallmark of this Albanese Government and the May Budget will be our most responsible yet.We’re getting the budget in better nick because that helps to fund the things that Australians need and deserve like Medicare, aged care and cost-of-living relief.In this Budget you’ll see more responsible economic management and more restraint from the Albanese Government. Continue reading...

Man, 32, arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after incident in Rosemeadow. Follow updates liveFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA third victim has died and a man is in police custody following an incident at a home in Sydney’s southwest, AAP reports.NSW police arrived at the house in Rosemeadow on Sunday at 1.30am after reports of a disturbance. Continue reading...

Advertised prices for new rental listings rising at fastest pace since October 2024. Follow updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties and abandon interest in the top end of the market.Figures today from the data firm Cotality show Melbourne and Sydney house prices fell 0.6% in April. Melbourne’s home values have now fallen 1.9% since November, with Sydney’s down 1%. Continue reading...

Foreign affairs minister says China has agreed to facilitate exports of jet fuel to ease supply disruptions. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.Penny Wong has been busy on her latest overseas trip, saying China has agreed to negotiate on jet fuel sales to help ease the global oil crisis. Continue reading...

Nuclear submarine mentioned in part of king’s speech that emphasised defence ties. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.Consumer price data coming out today is expected to show the sharp shock that the US-Iran war has dealt to our economy (and our wallets). Continue reading...

Government’s draft news bargaining incentive scheme includes 2.25% levy on local revenues of digital giantsAnthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.Releasing an exposure draft for the government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) scheme on Tuesday, the prime minister said platforms who sign new deals with publishers to pay for news content would receive offsets of between 150% to 170% from the new levy. Continue reading...

Club chief says ‘anodyne acknowledgements’ can be ‘overworked’. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.The RSL has announced it will review its guidance on welcome to country addresses at Anzac Day services after Indigenous leaders were booed at three dawn services on Saturday. Continue reading...

Foreign affairs minister begins another diplomatic tour to secure Australia’s fuel and energy supply chains. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, Nick Visser here to guide you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:The foreign minister, Penny Wong, will travel to Japan today, part of a diplomatic trip to secure fuel supplies that will also include visits to China and South Korea. She said the effort will help “ensure Australia is prioritised as a reliable energy partner”. Continue reading...

Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, has condemned the booing of welcome of country remarks at Anzac Day events on Saturday.Wilson offered some of the strongest criticism of the hecklers to be delivered by a Coalition frontbencher. In a post on X yesterday, he wrote:Thank you to all our veterans who fought for our country. ANZAC Day is a a day to honour all those who fought and died for our country. Booing any Australian who served or their story is unacceptable, disrespectful and unworthy of the ANZAC legacy.The story of this land began thousands of years ago. Project Australia is a continuing story of one land, one people with one destiny. Let us be worthy of our full inheritance, and those that sacrificed for respect based on our common humanity & the equal dignity of all people.It is incredibly disappointing and completely inappropriate to boo at an Anzac Day service. Whatever your views on a welcome to country, ANZAC Day is our most sacred day … If you have strong views about that, there are many other ways in a free country that you have an opportunity to express your views. Continue reading...

Liberal frontbencher says the country’s ‘sovereign capabilities’ have been eroded. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCyber criminals have hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry’s computer system and siphoned off US$2.5 million, Agence France Presse reports.It is the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in the debt-saddled country, which is recovering from a crippling economic crisis in 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its US$46 billion external debt.To put it bluntly, if ANZUS is going to continue for another 75 years, we need to invest in our industrial base and our defence force. Continue reading...

Data shows the market is at its tightest ever with rents going up in most capitals. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.Mark Butler told the ABC last night that the Albanese government’s sweeping changes to the national disability insurance scheme are expected to save the federal budget $35bn over four years. More coming up. Continue reading...

Labor says cuts to disability scheme mean elderly will get more help. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will be your guide through the morning.Today the health minister, Mark Butler, will detail major changes to the NDIS including significant funding “savings”. The government says the savings, in part, from the national disability insurance scheme will go to funding improved aged care including showering and dressing. Continue reading...

PM to update state and territory leaders and is weighing options to increase oil refining in Australia. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories. Nick Visser will take the reins shortly.Anthony Albanese will convene the national cabinet again in coming days to discuss the fuel crisis, he told the ABC’s 7.30 program last night, as the government considers options to boost domestic fuel refining capacity. Continue reading...

ACT independent David Pocock is calling for a 25% tax on gas exports to fund welfare and housing. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor should use the proceeds of limiting tax concessions for property investors and a crackdown on gas export profits to fund welfare increases and build housing, charities and social service groups say.Ahead of next month’s federal budget, the Albanese government is under pressure to wind back negative gearing rules and the 50% capital gains tax discount for property investments, and to tax more of the profits from soaring commodity exports, pushed up by the global energy shock.People on the lowest incomes are skipping meals, delaying medical care and rationing energy just to get by.Frontline services are operating at capacity, facing growing demand and increasingly complex needs. Current policy settings are not meeting the needs of our communities – it’s clear that significant and sustained public investment is essential. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMurder charge laid after woman’s body found at homeA 25-year-old man will face court after a woman’s body was found at a home. Continue reading...

Prime minister cuts fuel security visit to Malaysia short. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn extra 250,000 tonnes of agricultural-grade urea for fertiliser will come to Australia from Indonesia, under a new deal supported by the federal government.That’s around 20% of the fertiliser needed for the current planting season for Australian farmers, according to the Albanese government.This deal also shows why it’s critically important that we have strong relationships with our regional partners.While this is a commercial deal, the Australian and Indonesian Governments have been working to support this positive outcome … This will mean Australia can continue to play an important role supporting food security in Indonesia and our region at a time of global uncertainty. Continue reading...

Residents south of the refinery in Corio warned to shelter inside due to smokeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNationals leader Matt Canavan defended the Coalition’s planned crack down on immigrations as “fair and reasonable” and that migrants would understand the policy.Asked on 7.30 last night how Australia’s migrant communities would see the plan, Canavan referred to the “rigour” of the naturalisation process his Italian grandparents went through in the 1950s and his own publicised Section 44 high court citizenship saga (which he said ultimately proved him to be a “dinky-di Aussie”). He said:It’s fair and reasonable that we set high standards to join the club of Australians and I’m sure migrants here today want to see that …We have a Government that has put its head in the sand now and has not listened to the Australian people that clearly want change.I think we should discriminate on values …We shouldn’t discriminate on colour, religion, sexuality, gender, but surely … we should discriminate on people who don’t support democracy, who profess support for terrorism or violence, who don’t believe in equality between male and female genders. People who have those views I don’t want them in our country.I’ll comment that the Robert Frost line in that poem was delivered in irony.But we’ll return to that another day along with many other questions, thank you for joining us … Continue reading...

After Singapore last week, the PM visits supplier of 9% of Australia’s diesel as treasurer travels to Washington for G20 finance ministers’ meetingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has arrived in Brunei Darussalam, the first Australian prime minister to fly to the oil-rich country for a meeting with the sultan, where he’ll discuss fuel supplies with the world’s longest serving monarch, Andrew Greene has reported from the travelling media pool.Arriving in Bandar Seri Begawan yesterday for his second trip to Asia in a week, Albanese was officially welcomed on the tarmac before making his way to the Brunei Darussalam-Australia memorial to lay a wreath. Continue reading...

Governments spending $2.13bn annually on low quality food in public settings, report saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastReptile remains, believed to be from a crocodile, have been found dumped on the side of the road in Adelaide.A spokesperson for the state’s environment and water department confirmed in a statement that department staff had “collected the remains of a reptile at Waterloo Corner.” They said:The remains, which were dumped on the side of the road at Coleman Road, will be analysed in an effort to confirm the species and any other information.“It is not currently known how the remains came to be located at the site.A different approach can increase the use of fresh, local produce, redirect spending to Australian farmers and producers, support the people working in public food service kitchens, and generate real benefits for Australia.Better public food procurement is not about spending more, it’s about spending smarter. The evidence is clear, public support is strong, and the solutions exist. Given the threat to our food system caused by the global fuel and fertiliser crisis, now is the moment for leadership. Continue reading...

Government seeks to shore up Australia’s supply of diesel, fertiliser and other critical goods. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPrime minister Anthony Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong will visit Brunei and Malaysia this week as the government seeks to shore up Australia’s supply of diesel, fertiliser and other critical goods in the wake of shortages ccaused by the US-Israel war on Iran.Albanese will travel first to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on Tuesday for a meeting with the sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, to discuss “energy, food security, and the flow of essential goods between our countries,” according to the PM’s office. Continue reading...

Follow the day’s news liveAlbanese didn’t return with shiploads of diesel. That doesn’t mean his Singapore visit wasn’t a successGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government is launching a new advertising campaign to encourage the public to minimise their use of fuel amid the global crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.The TV, digital and billboard campaign, which will begin rolling out on Monday, is called “Every little bit helps” and is part of the second level of the government’s four-tier fuel security plan.…lays the groundwork for Australians to understand what to do now as fuel supplies hold up. It also signals that instructions will be communicated if and when we move to future levels.This campaign will help communicate the Government’s plan to the public and outline what actions they can take to help.The global fuel shortage is affecting us all and every little bit helps. From running errands in fewer trips to only filling up with the fuel you need, this will help us keep essential services moving. Continue reading...

Prime minister touches down and says two countries ‘strategically aligned’. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA search for a fisherman who disappeared in waters off Coffs Harbour has been suspended, police said last night.Emergency services were called to Emerald Beach, Coffs Harbour, on Monday following reports that a 32-year-old man had been washed off rocks while fishing.There’s been substantial damage in the Gulf and that will have consequences for a period of at least months ahead. Continue reading...

The prime minister will hold talks with his opposite number to shore fuel suppliesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPenny Wong says the US-Iran ceasefire is fragile but must hold for the sake of the world economy and energy markets.Speaking on ABC’s 7.30, the foreign minister said there were obvious differences between the two parties but the potential downsides to the truce failing meant it was imperative that it worked.This ceasefire is fragile, there’s no doubt about that. The ceasefire is fragile but the world does need it to hold. There are obviously substantial points of difference between the parties. But I think we all know that the damage that is happening to the global economy, to global energy markets, means that the world does need this ceasefire to hold.And you know, I spoke early on to Singapore, to Korea, to Malaysia, the Prime Minister, as you said, is going to Singapore, we’ve seen one announcement already and we will continue to work with them. I spoke to the Japanese foreign minister just before this interview, we want to keep engaging with our counterparts, because this is a very large shock to global energy markets, and one that will continue to have an effect.I can understand people being really concerned about what is happening on global markets and what has happened in the Middle East, and the way this has escalated, which is why we have been saying for some time, it’s time for de-escalation. Continue reading...