Australia News

Allan Kelly had driven on the flooded Gregory Highway before, but when he felt his ute start to move sideways, he knew he and his daughter were in trouble. “Not my greatest moment as a father,” the Clermont-based property owner and church pastor said. The ute eventually became stuck in a table drain, and Mr…

Health Minister Mark Butler has again backed the modelling underpinning the government’s housing tax package despite a drop in house prices. According to property data firm Cotality, dwelling values fell 0.4 per cent nationally in June. Butler told ABC’s News Breakfast that it was normal for house prices to “jump around a little bit” but…

Amid a surging cost-of-living crisis, Trish Owen would like to work more hours, but earning too much could mean she loses her government-provided house — and a new study suggests she is not alone. Ms Owen has been living in social housing in Perth for two decades, and believes she is “stuck” there because of…

Shark bite kits like the one used to help save the life of Sydney mother Leah Stewart after she was attacked earlier this month are being stolen from beaches. Community Shark Bite Kits founder Danny Schouten has rolled out 280 of the packs, which contain bandages, a tourniquet, a thermal blanket, a whistle and instructions….

Australia cruised into yet another Women’s T20 World Cup final after hammering the West Indies by eight wickets at The Oval overnight. The West Indies made 7-125, and the inadequacy of that total was exposed by Australia hunting it down with seven overs to spare. Opener Beth Mooney and Ash Gardner partnered in the seventh…

Under quarantine lockdown in Brisbane’s Ecosciences Precinct, an imported plant pathogen is being readied for release, its microscopic spores to be spread by the wind. Puccinia lantanae leaf blister rust is being incubated in a laboratory with strict biosecurity measures. Scientists shower on exiting. (Supplied: Jason Callander Biosecurity Queensland) Scientists working with it change clothes…

Trams have been suspended, and a major inner-city road has closed as police investigate a suspicious fire at a tobacco store in Melbourne’s east overnight. Emergency services were called to a building on Bridge Road in Richmond about 3.30am and found the ground floor of the shop engulfed in flames.  A search of the building…

Researchers have laid bare the huge skin cancer burden on Queensland with a new study suggesting residents in mid-life collectively undergo about 1.5 million procedures for the disease a year, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. The study, led by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Cancer Council Queensland, has triggered calls for more investment…

Germany faces mounting threats from hostile foreign powers, particularly Russia, and polarised domestic politics on both the far right and left, security officials have said. The BfV domestic security agency warned in its annual report, released on Tuesday, local time, of a growing risk from, among others, Moscow-recruited saboteurs, Chinese spies, Iran-backed Islamist militants and…

Brisbane will host the Davis Cup for the first time since 2018, with Australia to play Poland in September. The countries will face off in a 2026 World Group I tie at the Pat Rafter Arena on September 19 and 20. Tennis Queensland chief executive Cameron Pearson said it was “exciting” to have the Cup…