Breaking news, politics, business, economy, and current events from Australia.
Public consultation on the controversial draft plan to manage one of Australia’s vital river systems closes today, with significant work ahead to balance environmental, pastoral and traditional owner interests. The Fitzroy River, stretching more than 700 kilometres from Western Australia’s East Kimberley to the Indian Ocean at King Sound, holds deep cultural, ecological and economic…
Men’s defending champion Jannik Sinner and women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka both arrived at Wimbledon with question marks hanging over them and left centre court with contrasting first-round victories. Italy’s Sinner, playing his first match since his shock collapse to defeat in the second round of the French Open, was stretched to the limit by…
Tourism operators in coastal South Australia say more information on what to look for in sick birds should be provided in the wake of Australia’s H5N1 bird flu outbreak. Only one case of the H5 variant has been detected so far in SA, on the Fleureiu Peninsula. Calypso Star Charters owner Andrew Wright, who runs…
Investigators are treating a fire that gutted a business in Melbourne’s south-east overnight as suspicious. Emergency services were called to a shopping strip on Lower Dandenong Road in Mentone about 4.10am, where crews found a shop on fire. Multiple units worked to extinguish the blaze, which was complicated by live power lines that had caught…
“It felt like a pleasure to be able to make things up,” Ariane Beeston says of writing her first work of fiction, the young adult novel Don’t Forget to Smile. Beeston had previously written an acclaimed non-fiction work, Because I’m Not Myself, You See, about her experiences with postpartum psychosis. “Following such an intense, traumatic…
On a winter’s night at a suburban ground in St Albans, in Melbourne’s west, a group of footy club presidents and officials are gathering to talk about the brain health of their players. Addressing them is the FIFTHQTR Foundation, an independent group led by former Carlton star Ken Hunter, dedicated to the welfare of former…
Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh was out early this morning to clean up, and also double down, on her call for a party rebrand. Yesterday the shadow minister declared the party should have another look at it’s values, policies and messaging in a bid to better appeal to voters after a drop in the polls Asked…
The sons of a woman killed by her Airbnb guest say the fire that gutted her house also destroyed answers about their mother’s final moments. Maree Vermont’s remains were found in the ashes of her burnt-out living room in rural Victoria in August 2023. The 60-year-old lived alone in the stone house she had designed…
Tech giants that refuse to hand over documents related to their enforcement of Australia’s social media age ban face fines of up to $1.65 million under new legislation. Widespread concerns social media companies are failing to take reasonable steps to block Australians younger than 16 from their platforms sparked the tougher legislation introduced to parliament…
On a winter’s day in one of the country’s most isolated towns, only a scattering of intrepid travellers have arrived to see the desert in flood. It is strange for this time of year. Birdsville should be stirring with the promise of peak season but it feels hushed, the streets eerily quiet. Despite the environmental…