Latest Reporting by The Guardian Australia
20 Stories Indexed
Tech giants are trying to obliterate privacy. Australia has a rare chance to take back part of their power | Lizzie O'Shea
‘Pervert glasses’ are selling out, tick-a-box consent is broken and the spectre of surveillance is invading all aspects of our livesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA mere five years after the government first started talking about it, new changes have finally been proposed for the Privacy Act. They could not be more overdue and urgent. “Pervert glasses” are selling out at Kmart, facial recognition technology is proliferating in our everyday environments, and microtarge...
Prakrit has already lost her father. As Nepal’s morgues fill, she hopes her DNA can be used to find her mother
A week on from the flash flooding disaster, authorities are urging relatives of the thousands of missing and dead to provide blood samples An army official calls out a name. A young woman stands, two pieces of identification in her hands. She fills out a form, takes another and moves to the back of the hospital to give a vial of blood.With so many people killed by Nepal’s floods, and hundreds of bodies being buried because the morgues are full, there is now a push to identify victims through DNA...
More than a third of prenatal reports to NSW protective services not investigated, ombudsman finds
Other families have been unlawfully compelled to be case-managed without consent, watchdog findsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than a third of all reports raising concerns about the future welfare of unborn children were closed due to a shortage of allocated caseworkers, while families were unlawfully compelled to take part in prenatal case work, the New South Wales ombudsman has found.In its findings after in...
Populist One Nation’s latest victory points to a thirst for unity. But there are better ways to feel connected | Peter Lewis
When we last polled attitudes to membership, I argued the first act of resistance is to join something. Ten years on, that project is even more urgentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation’s byelection win at Secret Harbour on the weekend can be dismissed as the result of the politics of anger and exclusion, but if we are serious about understanding the surge in support for Pauline Hanson’s party, we should also recognise a nostalgia for belonging and shared identi...
News live: Five Australians confirmed safe after Nepal-Tibet flooding; Chanel Contos urges action on ‘manosphere’
Independent MP Allegra Spender has called on the Australian government to implement opt-in algorithms for social media platforms to enhance safety for users, particularly young people. Spender argues that current algorithms pose risks and that voluntary measures are insufficient to address these concerns.
Morning Mail: Albanese’s approval plummets; US airstrikes on Iran; and a Sydney uni’s chatbot tutors
Want to get this in your inbox every weekday? Sign up for the Morning Mail here, and finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletterMorning everyone. The recent muddle over immigration levels appears to have cost the government, with our latest Essential poll showing a sharp fall in support and the prime minister’s personal rating hitting an all-time low.The government’s rating will probably not improve if, as economists forecast today, the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates despite the...
Sydney’s beaches enter the drone age to get swimmers back in the water after spate of shark attacks
Seventy beaches across New South Wales are part of the $34m dawn-to-dusk drone monitoring program, which one expert has called ‘the best technology we have at the moment’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast“Hey Taha, what’s the visibility like?” shouts a man with a towel slung over his shoulder.“Uh, nice,” says Surf Life Saving New South Wales drone operator Taha Kafil-Hussain. Continue reading...
NSW government to resume pill testing at music festivals but rejects calls for wider community rollout
Use of sniffer dogs and searches will continue despite health and harm reduction groups arguing they could lead to riskier drug takingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDrug testing will resume at New South Wales music festivals from October, but will not be rolled out into the wider community despite calls from peak health and harm reduction groups, while the controversial use of sniffer dogs and searches will continue.On Wednesday the state government announced NSW Heal...
House prices head for historic 10% drop as fourth interest rate hike looms
Cotality data reveals property prices are now falling in more than 90% of Australian suburbs, while analysts expect market downturn to continueGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prospect of the steepest property market downturn in history will not stop the Reserve Bank from delivering a fourth interest rate hike as it battles to bring inflation back under control, economists say.New data from Cotality revealed house prices are now falling in more than 90% of Australia...
Macquarie University swaps in-person psychology classes with AI chatbot for two subjects
University’s move is part of trend that critics within academia say will lead to further staff cuts and the loss of ‘everything that makes the job worth doing’An Australian university has swapped in-person classes with an AI chatbot, online quizzes and optional online tutorials in two subjects as institutions give the technology more teaching responsibilities.Macquarie University’s “Virtual Peer” is part of each week’s learning in two mandatory Psychology units, programmed to ask students questi...
Inside knowledge or ‘making stuff up’? Charles Perrottet’s advice to Jean Nassif put under microscope by Icac
Brother of former treasurer and premier faces questions about texts that appear to indicate he was aware of fast-tracking policy before it was announcedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDid the former premier’s brother, Charles Perrottet, have prior knowledge of a Covid-era New South Wales government policy to introduce a fast track to approve major developments?Did he take steps to ensure that developments owned by the fugitive developer, Jean Nassif, were successful th...
Guardian Essential poll: One Nation’s popularity slips as Albanese records lowest approval as prime minister
Coalition regains ground as support for Labor and Pauline Hanson’s party falls amid ‘messy immigration debate’Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter hereLabor’s national primary vote has dropped five percentage points in a month, falling to 26% in the latest Guardian Essential poll, as Anthony Albanese records his lowest approval rating as prime minister.And despite One Nation’s win in Saturday’s Secret Harbour byelection in Western Australia, the poll showed the national p...
Footage shows NSW police officer boasting about 'punching' anti-Herzog protester in head – video
Police body-worn camera footage, which was leaked to a social media account over the weekend, reveals a male police officer telling his colleagues during the 9 February protest at Sydney town hall against a visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog: 'I fucking pumped that cunt.' A female officer can be heard replying, 'So funny,' before the male officer says: 'Then I punched him in the head when he was down'Footage of police officer boasting about punching Sydney anti-Herzog protester raises...
Sydney records warmest winter on record as Melbourne equals previous hottest temperatures
Australia experienced its warmest winter on record across multiple eastern states, including record-breaking temperatures in Sydney and Melbourne. The Bureau of Meteorology indicates that this trend of above-average daytime and nighttime temperatures is forecasted to persist.
Footage of police officer boasting about punching Sydney anti-Herzog protester raises questions about conduct
Leaked body-worn camera footage shows a New South Wales police officer boasting about punching a protester in the head during a February demonstration against Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The revelation has sparked concerns regarding police conduct and the circumstances surrounding the subsequent arrest of the protester for allegedly assaulting police.
Albanese has everything to lose engaging in a fight with Hanson, but he may be drawn in anyway | Analysis
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces strategic political pressure regarding how to address the resurgence of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. While Labor prefers to focus on traditional policy platforms like education and health, political dynamics may force the prime minister into a direct confrontation despite potential electoral risks.
Charles Perrottet told fugitive developer plan at Nobu dinner to have NSW MP ‘on his knees’, Icac hears
Liberal party figure tells inquiry he never asked Jean Nassif ‘for payments for political outcomes’ as lawyer tells him she is ‘gobsmacked’ by his ‘obfuscation’The younger brother of Dominic Perrottet has insisted he never asked a fugitive property developer for money for political outcomes – including at a meeting at fine-dining restaurant Nobu in Crown Casino, an inquiry has heard.On Tuesday, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) heard that developer Jean Nassif...
Afternoon Update: Australian missing in Nepal-Tibet floods found alive; Ray Hadley takes stand at Alan Jones trial; and the Kākāpō bounces back
An Australian thought missing after floods on the Nepal‑Tibet border has been found alive. Radio host Ray Hadley testified at Alan Jones' trial, saying the alleged victim broke down and sobbed. Conservationists report a rebound in the endangered Kākāpō population.
Relief as Australian missing in Nepal-Tibet flood disaster found alive
One of 43 unaccounted for Australians has been located in Tibet, Dfat saysAustralians missing in the Nepal floods: what we know so farAn Australian believed to be missing after floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week has been found alive.The person made contact with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) on Tuesday from Tibet. Continue reading...
China warns of ‘consequences’ over Taiwan presence at Pacific Islands Forum
Beijing-Taipei tensions a feature at meeting in Palau, with Australia and New Zealand saying the forum – not another country – will determine who attendsChina said it had serious concerns about Taiwan’s presence at the annual Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, warning of “consequences” after the democratically ruled island attended the group’s opening ceremony on Monday.China views Taiwan as its own territory, and China-Taiwan tensions have featured prominently at the meeting, which is intended...
