Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off Coalition attacks about a meeting with ex-Qantas boss Alan Joyce, labelling the comments as an “absurdity” and a “conspiracy theory”. Albanese has come under fire from the opposition after a freedom of information request showed he had a half-hour meeting with Joyce at Parliament House in November 2022. The government was criticised in …

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers say their client should receive “substantial damages” even if the judge in his defamation trial finds he was dishonest on “occasions”. Lehrmann’s legal team filed a 136-page written submission with the Federal Court of Australia, which was made public on Friday. They accepted that Justice Michael Lee could make adverse findings about the former Liberal staffer’s honesty. …

An 11-year-old girl has died following a horror crash in the Blue Mountains two weeks ago. She is the third person to die after five vehicles crashed on the Great Western Highway at Wallerawang, 15 kilometres north of Lithgow, in December 29. Two people died initially, while more than a dozen others – including at least five children – were injured. …

If your grocery bill seems to be increasing each month, you’re not imagining it. A new analysis from investment bank UBS has found price rises at Australia’s leading supermarkets have hit a new high, outpacing inflation over the last year. It comes as Australians continue to grapple with a cost of living crisis, with rates, phone plans, energy bills and …

Australian police officers will be deployed to train and support their Papua New Guinea counterparts as part of a new security deal inked between the two nations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosted PNG leader James Marape in Canberra on Thursday where the deal was signed. The legally binding agreement will help benefit nations and add to regional security, Marape told …

At Australia’s annual Christmas lunch the biggest slice of pie will again go to Coles and Woolworths, and while a new inquiry looks set to examine their profit margins, New Zealand offers a lesson in just how difficult it is to disrupt a duopoly. The companies that own Australia’s major supermarkets posted billion-dollar profits this year, prompting calls for a Christmas …

Australia has lost a second straight Davis Cup final, after Alexei Popyrin and Alex de Minaur were beaten in their singles matches in a 2-0 defeat to Italy. Australian tennis dreams were dashed again as Lleyton Hewitt’s team succumbed in a second straight Davis Cup final amid heartbreak and another jolting reality check in Malaga. Italy ended up lifting the …

Emergency and health experts warn Australia is heading into the first of a series of high-risk bushfire seasons, as overlapping bushfire periods stretch resources. Record-breaking dry conditions and warmer than average temperatures during early spring are behind the increased fire risk for large areas of Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory, say Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) in …

Brittany Higgins has broken down in tears during cross-examination in the Federal Court, as lawyers for Bruce Lehrmann suggested she had not been raped at Parliament House in 2019. CONTENT WARNING: This article contains graphic details of sexual assault allegations.  Mr Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for broadcasting an interview with Ms Higgins on The Project, …

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says a backbench push for more cost-of-living relief is “not unusual”, as the government faces pressure to do more in its mid-year budget update. Mr Chalmers will today meet with Labor MPs calling for additional relief, but said next month’s Mid-Year Economic Financial Outlook should be considered an update, not a “mini-budget” with additional relief measures. …