Australian News

QLD Premier Steven Miles said the attack gives "added weight" to the argument to expand police stop and search powers.

Jack's Law lets Queensland police search people without a warrant on public transport, at public transport stations and in safe night precincts.

Mr Miles said legislation expanding Jack's Law to include shopping centres will be introduced to parliament "very soon".

Australia's first locally made orbital rocket is poised to blast off from a small north Queensland town next month.

The 23-metre rocket has been lifted into the vertical position for the first time.

Gilmour Space is waiting for launch approval from the Australian Space Agency.

• In short: Australia's Defence department has refused to publicly release a copy of the deal struck with Israel on defence industry cooperation because it "could harm Australia's international standing and reputation".
• The Israeli government was also consulted about whether to release the document, the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has revealed.
• What's next? Greens senator David Shoebridge has argued the Australian public has a right to know about Australia's military trade relationship with Israel.

• In short: Federation University plans to make 12 per cent of its workforce redundant by September.

• The National Tertiary Education Union has called on the institution's leaders to resign and says it will fight the staff cuts.

• What's next? The university says it is consulting with staff about redundancy plans.

• In short: A resident said she heard an "almighty roar" as a waterspout made its way through a street in Green Point on Friday night.
• The Bureau of Meteorology says waterspouts usually "die off fairly quickly" when they make landfall, but this one became something akin to a tornado.
• What's next? Clean-up efforts continue as residents assess damage to trees, fences and backyard equipment.

• In short: Prominent businesswoman and gender equality advocate Samantha Mostyn AO will become Australia's 28th governor-general.
  Ms Mostyn is the current chair of the federal government's Women's Economic Equality Taskforce and has previously served in a range of roles, including as an AFL commissioner.
  What's next? She will be sworn in on July 1, replacing David Hurley, who has served since 2019.

• In short: Tech giant Uber is being sued by rival taxi app GoCatch, who claim the ridesharing company used underhanded tactics to gain an edge more than a decade ago.
• Internal Uber emails reveal the company obtained the phone numbers of rival drivers and attempted to hire them.
• What's next? The trial is expected to run for 10 weeks and Uber has indicated it will "vigorously" defend itself against GoCatch's claims.

• In short: Officials in Gaza say an air strike killed five people, including four aid workers working with the World Central Kitchen charity one of whom was Australian Zomi Frankcom.
• Local medical officials say the group's car was hit by an Israeli strike after it crossed into the area from northern Gaza, where they had helped to deliver aid.
• What's next: Israel's defence force says it is conducting a thorough review and the Australian prime minister says he wants to see "accountability".

Staff warned that language in the national broadcaster’s coverage ‘favoured the Israeli narrative over objective reporting’.

Staff at Australia’s national broadcaster warned that its coverage of the war in Gaza relied too much on Israeli sources and used language that “favoured the Israeli narrative over objective reporting”, internal communications reveal, shedding new light on bias claims that convulsed the outlet.

In a summary of a meeting on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)’s coverage of the war, staff detailed concerns that coverage displayed pro-Israel bias, such as by accepting “Israeli facts and figures with no ifs or buts” while questioning Palestinian viewpoints and avoiding the word “Palestine” itself.

The three-page summary, which Al Jazeera obtained via a freedom of information request with the ABC, is undated, but its contents correspond with a meeting of 200 staff that was held in November to address concerns about the broadcaster’s coverage.

While the broad thrust of concerns aired at the meeting was reported by Australian media in November, the document contains extensive detail about staff’s complaints and previously unpublicised examples of alleged pro-Israeli bias.

...

A tourist visa is the only way in for hundreds of Palestinians seeking refuge, leaving them forced to rely on overwhelmed community organisations

Sanmati Verma, the managing lawyer at Human Rights Law Centre, says the Albanese government has “failed to open humanitarian pathways from Gaza” by establishing a specific visa – and, at the same time, Palestinians have not received help with settlement or legal support after arriving in Australia.

“This is in marked distinction to the support that is rightly extended to the survivors of war and devastation in other parts of the [world], including Ukraine,” Verma says.

In the first five months of Russia’s war on Ukraine, 11,500 Ukrainian arrivals to Australia had access to a three-year humanitarian visa granting Medicare, work and study rights. On 31 July 2022 the Albanese government closed the scheme.

Afghan evacuees and Ukrainian arrivals were also eligible for the humanitarian support program, funded by the Department of Home Affairs, to help them integrate into Australian life. This gave access to orientation services, English language lessons, temporary housing assistance and legal services.

Nina Field, the manager of humanitarian services at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, says a special visa category should be opened for Palestinians as soon as possible – “just as has been the situation with any other significant conflict”. In the meantime, Roumeliotis hopes an emergency support package will be announced.

In short: NSW parliament voted to pass the bill criminalising gay conversion after a marathon debate overnight.

The legislation passed unamended.

What's next? The legislation will take 12 months to take effect.

• In short: Vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys will close for good after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the struggling business.
• The closure will affect 141 stores in Australia and New Zealand, and result in 600 job losses.
• What's next? Godfreys stores will gradually close by May 31, with stores run by franchisees having until March 31 to sell any remaining stock.

Alternative title: NSW cops murder a kid because he ran home when 4 people in plain clothes pile out of a car and accost him. For wearing a hoodie.

• In short: Australia will resume its funding to the primary aid agency operating inside Gaza, UNRWA.
• Funding was paused by several nations after Israel claimed several workers had links to the October 7 terror attack by Hamas.
• What's next? The government has committed additional support to Gaza, including assistance in delivering aid drops.

• In short: Several Palestinians who have left Gaza have suddenly had their Australian visas cancelled while waiting in transit countries.
• The Australian government has granted 2,273 temporary visas for Palestinians, and 2,415 for Israelis between October and February.
• The ABC is aware of several Palestinians who have had their visas cancelled while preparing to leave for Australia.

De-paywalled archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240304220528/https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/west-gate-bridge-blocked-with-truck-during-peak-hour-climate-protest-20240305-p5f9v1.html

As a casual tutor my partner had to apply for assistance this past holiday break and still hasn't received any notification or payments. They applied a month and a half ago and have been unable to reach anyone by phone since.

Last year they were in surgery around this time of year with a six week recovery period but luckily assistance was provided on time.

Telstra staff were forced to email emergency referrals to triple-0 operators after services went down around the country.

A national triple-0 outage early today has been described by a union official as "complete chaos".

The outage, which was confirmed by Victoria Police, lasted for more than an hour, during which time Telstra operators could answer calls but could not redirect them to the appropriate triple-0 call centre.

The phone service was malfunctioning between 3.30am and 4:30am, forcing Telstra operators to email referrals, some of which were not received by Triple Zero Victoria operators until after 7am.

An unnamed former Australian politician, who was successfully cultivated by an international spy ring, once suggested bringing a prime minister's family member into contact with their foreign handlers.

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