Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has accused the Greens of racism, and will lodge a case with the Australian Human Rights Commission. Senator Thorpe, who quit the Greens earlier this year, revealed she would take up her dispute with the party to the commission after receiving legal advice there was “enough ground”. “I’ve experienced racism all my life in every workplace, …

The Salvation Army’s National Multicultural Launch, as part of the annual Red Shield Appeal, was launched on Friday 5 May 2023 by Head of The Salvation Army Australia, Commissioner Miriam Gluyas and Jodi McKay, former Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, former Leader of the Opposition, and business leader, bringing together business, community, and media leaders from 20+ multicultural community groups …

US President Joe Biden will address the Australian parliament when he visits Canberra and Sydney for security talks. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host the president alongside Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Indian President Narendra Modi for the Quad summit next week. It will be the first visit by a US president in almost a decade and marks the fifth time …

Australia’s banks have joined forces to unveil a new weapon to help save victims from transferring their money to scammers. The crucial tool means banks can communicate quickly to “freeze” the payments from one bank to another. The Australian Banking Association unveiled its Fraud Reporting Exchange (FRX) platform on Tuesday. “Given every minute can be crucial in disrupting scams, the …

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says a proposal to lift the working hours threshold for those on JobSeeker would allow them to earn more while putting less strain on the budget’s bottom line. The coalition has called for an increase of five to 10 hours to the time people on JobSeeker can work before their payment benefits are removed. Mr Dutton …

Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins has warned opponents of the government’s multibillion-dollar fund to build more homes to “get out of the way” as negotiations stall on the issue. The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund remains stuck in parliament, with both the Coalition and the Greens not backing the proposal. The fund would allow 30,000 social and affordable homes …

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is confident “positive” talks between Australian and Chinese ministers on removing trade sanctions will lead to progress. Trade Minister Don Farrell recently returned from Beijing where he held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on a possible end to restrictions on billions of dollars of Australian export products such as barley, wine and lobster. While …

Sydney is on the way up, with the New South Wales Premier calling for an end to the urban sprawl and a shift to more medium and high-rise housing. In the face of rising anti-development sentiment in the inner suburbs, Premier Chris Minns says the city of 5.2 million people must rebalance where it builds new homes. That means more …

Kyle Sandilands encouraged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to propose to his girlfriend Jodie Haydon as he delivered his wedding speech on Saturday. Mr Albanese has been dating financial services professional Ms Haydon since early 2020, following the end of his marriage to Carmel Tebbutt in 2019. As he spoke of his own love story with wife Tegan Kynaston, the radio presenter congratulated two of his friends who got engaged just days earlier. He …

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been branded ‘the baby whisperer’ by his girlfriend Jodie Haydon after he shared a bellylaugh with Kyle Sandilands’ son Otto. Beaming from ear to ear Mr Albanese held Mr Sandilands and Tegan Kynaston’s first child after the ceremony, with baby Otto appearing to love every bit of it. Ms Haydon called her PM partner ‘the baby whisperer’ which sparked Ms Kynaston …