Category: World

The Prime Minister says key government services would be cut in a ferocious attack on the Coalition’s promise to slash the Canberra-based public service by 41,000 workers. Peter Dutton has confirmed this would be done through voluntary redundancies and natural attrition, and only affect public servants in Canberra. Anthony Albanese questioned whether the Coalition was aware their cuts would include senior defence leadership and crucial national security agencies. “ASIO, the Australian Signals Directorate, all of our security and intelligence agencies, where does Peter Dutton think they are based,” Mr Albanese told reporters while campaigning in Perth on Thursday. “They are ... Read more

Police have scolded a young Queensland couple after their car was bogged on a closed road, leaving them stranded for three days. The pair, a 19-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man from the state’s Tablelands Region, were driving along Cape Melville road in Cape York – which was closed to the public due to the wet weather – during the Easter long weekend on Friday, when their ute became stuck in thick mud and their winch broke. Police attempted to locate the couple, but roads in the area were closed and impassable due to the weather conditions. Three days later, ... Read more

The grieving mother of Kaison Greaves has issued a heartbreaking tribute to her nine-year-old son, who tragically died after he became trapped between rocks at a beach on Easter Sunday. Kaison fell and became trapped between rocks at South West Rocks beach on the NSW mid north coast region on Easter. He was eventually freed, however he died at the scene. His mother, Brook, thanked all those who attended a community vigil on Tuesday evening at the beach, as well as those who tried to save Kaison. “ … We are so forever grateful he was not alone in his ... Read more

Only God can save Australia if Labor, the Greens and the Teals come together to form government, Nationals leader David Littleproud says. The man who wants to be the next deputy prime minister delivered a speech at the National Press Club on Thursday. The leader of the Nationals spoke passionately, without notes or a teleprompter, about homelessness and a lack of childcare in regional Australia, and fired up talking about the power supermarkets hold over farmers. “If you have Anthony Albanese, Adam Bandt in coalition government with a sprinkle of Teals and independents putting fairy dust across Canberra – God ... Read more

David Speirs’ bizarre “deepfake” conspiracy claim that he had never used cocaine has crumbled in court. Speirs, the former leader of South Australia’s Liberal Party, was convicted of two counts of cocaine supply at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday and ordered to pay a fine of $9000 and serve out 37.5 hours in community service. His arrest and conviction follows the release of photographs by The Adelaide Advertiser in September last year showing Speirs snorting a white powder substance on his kitchen benchtop. When confronted by reporters at the time, Speirs claimed the footage was a “deepfake” and he had ... Read more

The palatial mansion of a prominent Sydney couple was raided by heavily armed tactical police in extraordinary scenes that rocked the ritzy neighbourhood, it has emerged. Strike Force Raptor officers smashed down the front door of wealthy entrepreneurs Stephanie and Garrett Jandegian’s Bellevue Hill home at dawn on February 6, New South Wales Police have confirmed. The shock raid at the property, which the couple purchased for $27 million, was part of a secretive operation, codenamed Strike Force Candice, by the Organised Crime Squad and the NSW Crime Commission. The joint investigation is probing unexplained wealth and money laundering. Mr ... Read more

Iconic Aussie TV and film star Gerard Kennedy has died aged 93. The long-time screen legend starred in television classics such as The Flying Doctors and Underbelly and films such as 1973’s The Mango Tree and Newsfront from 1978. He also starred in recent hits including horror film Wolf Creek 2. His career spanned decades, starting in the 1960s and was one of Australia’s first homegrown television stars. His breakthrough role came playing enemy espionage agent Kragg in TV show Hunter in 1967. The series followed the adventures of special agent John Hunter tracking down espionage along the eastern coast ... Read more

South Australia’s federal election battle is again dominated by the state’s two most marginal seats as the major parties both claim Sturt and Boothby are too close to call. Both electorates: Sturt — held by the Liberal’s James Stevens with a tiny 0.5 per cent margin — and Boothby — held by Labor’s Louise Miller-Frost with 3.3 per cent — have been showered with promises from getting trucks off main roads to funding sporting clubs. The Liberals plan to splash $840m on the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass giving heavy vehicles an alternative route around the Adelaide Hills and funnelling trucks ... Read more

Drivers are being warned to stay vigilant on the roads as double demerits come back into force this weekend. Common offences such as incorrect use of seatbelts, speeding, and illegally using mobile phones all lead to demerit points being added to driver’s records, and if the demerit point limit is reached, licenses can be suspended. Fines are also often attached to these offences, but rules vary between states. New South Wales and the ACT NSW drivers will face double demerits from Thursday, April 24, to Sunday, April 27. The ACT is more lenient for comparatively minor offences, such as failing ... Read more

After David Crisafulli ended Labor’s nine-year grip on power at the state level, the LNP will be hoping there is momentum to increase its already huge presence in Queensland at the federal level on May 3. It holds 21 of the state’s 30 federal seats, against Labor’s five and the Greens’ three. Even before Mr Crisafulli’s win, Labor looked in trouble after backsliding in last year’s Brisbane City Council election where it only just held on to five out of the 26 wards. The LNP won 18 (plus the lord mayoralty) and the Greens won just two. Seats to watch ... Read more