Andrew Spira pleads guilty to fraud and drugs charges in Darwin, handed $39K fine

A Sydney entrepreneur who concocted an elaborate plan to flee Australia, become a drug-dealer in South-East Asia, hijack a yacht and fund an armed militia, has pleaded guilty to a string of fraud and drug charges in Darwin Local Court on Friday.

Andrew Spira, the…[Read more]

World Food Programme says civilians in Gaza are facing ‘immediate possibility of starvation’

The United Nations said there would be no cross-border aid operation on Friday due to fuel shortages and a communication shutdown.

For a second consecutive day on Thursday no aid trucks arrived in Gaza due to lack of fuel for distributing relief.

WFP…[Read more]

Israel-Gaza: WHO voices concern over spread of disease in Gaza as IDF warns Gazans to flee the south

Fighting continues more than five weeks after the terror attack on Israel by Hamas, which sparked a retaliatory bombing and ground offensive by Israel.

The World Health Organization has expressed worries over the spread of disease in Gaza as…[Read more]

Infrastructure Minister defends withdrawal of funding for Western Sydney Airport link

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King says funding for a critical Western Sydney motorway interchange was axed because an independent review could not determine what it was for.

The interchange between the M7 and the toll-free M12 to the…[Read more]

The 12-hour rush to push through laws concerning the end of indefinite detention was alarming in its chaos

In the space of 12 hours on Thursday, the Australian Parliament passed legislation about what remains, to the public, a largely ill-defined and unknown group of people — but variously described by some of our MPs as “hardened criminals” a…[Read more]

Jumping castle operator charged over 2021 Hillcrest tragedy that resulted in deaths of six Tasmanian children

Tasmanian company has been charged in relation to the Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy two years ago.

Six children at the Hillcrest primary school died — Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye S…[Read more]

Thousands of people are being killed in Gaza by Israel’s attack

just 19 days, from October 7 to 25, at least 7,028 people – including 2,913 children – have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

On October 26, the ministry published a comprehensive report detailing the names, ages, gender, and ID…[Read more]

Yang Hengjun: Sons of Australian jailed in China plead for his release

The family of an Australian writer jailed in China are calling on their government to urgently secure his release, warning he “may be dying”.

Yang Hengjun has been detained for almost five years on espionage allegations denied by him and Canberra.

His sons have written to…[Read more]

BHP chair Ken MacKenzie defends $2m donation in support of the Voice

The chair of Australia’s biggest mining firm has defended the company’s decision to donate $2m in support of the Voice to Parliament, saying there were “clear business reasons” for backing constitutional change.

Ken MacKenzie, speaking at BHP’s annual general meeting in Adelai…[Read more]

Living costs climbing due to interest rates, fuel prices and insurance premiums

Australian workers are doing it tougher than other households in the cost of living fight, according to new figures.

Rising fuel prices, insurance premiums and interest rates are contributing to an increase in living costs for many households, according to the latest…[Read more]

What next for Victoria?
There’ll be plenty said and written in the coming weeks and months about the legacy of Daniel Andrews.
Plenty of debate (and division) about how he deserves to go down in this state’s history. Whether he should be lauded or lampooned, celebrated or censured, for the hits and misses of the past nine years.

But for those…[Read more]

Brisbane Lions through to AFL grand final with 16-point win over Carlton in preliminary final at the Gabba

The Brisbane Lions are into the AFL grand final for the first time in 19 years after a 16-point win over Carlton in their preliminary final at the Gabba.

The Lions dominated the second and third terms, then withstood a late charge from the…[Read more]

‘I had one door left’: Queensland pilot’s story of survival after helicopter crash

A Queensland pilot has told the harrowing story of how he survived when his helicopter crashed into a dam.
Grant Schultz was helping battle one of several bushfires burning across the state on Wednesday when a routine water collection at a dam in the Scenic Rim…[Read more]