Almost $3 million of taxpayer money handed to a Queensland theme park for a state-of-the-art facility to protect endangered koalas has been diverted to build a flashy new rollercoaster. The Queensland government gave $2.7 million of public funding to build the Future Lab wildlife research centre in 2019 at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. However, during budget estimates hearings this …

Anthony Albanese had a tough first question time as Prime Minister on Wednesday with little sign of the hoped-for return to civility on the floor of Parliament. In a series of testy confrontations, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his shadow cabinet peppered the PM with questions over the government’s proposed abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Mr Dutton was quick to …

Police have named two Saudi Arabian sisters found dead in a unit in Sydney’s south-west last month, as the mystery over their “unusual” deaths continues. Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead in separate beds at their Canterbury unit during a welfare check at 9.30am on Tuesday, June 7. Police said the women, who arrived in …

Education Minister Jason Clare says fixing a teacher shortage due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the flu is high on his agenda. Mr Clare said the shortage was getting worse due to the particularly cold winter. “(It’s) led to teachers being at home crook rather than being in the classroom looking after kids,” he told reporters in Darwin on Thursday. …

Australia’s energy supply will be assured by a faster transition to renewables but the “safety net” capacity mechanism will not affect the emissions reduction target, the climate change minister says. The government will also push ahead on legislating its 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 target despite the opposition declaring it will not support it. Chris Bowen wants faster …

Moderna’s experimental Omicron booster generates high levels of antibodies that neutralise subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, according to preliminary clinical trial data. These subvariants have gained a foothold in the US and Australia, and are already driving a new wave of infections in the UK. Moderna’s results, which have not been peer-reviewed, build on an announcement earlier this month that people given the new booster made more Omicron-fighting antibodies …

Australia’s aviation sector received more than $5 billion in COVID-19 support but its performance was not adequately monitored, a new audit report has found. The federal government established a suite of support measures in response to the pandemic to assist the troubled sector, which was also eligible for the JobKeeper scheme. Measures included fuel rebates, airport grants, underwriting flight costs …

The Australian tennis favourite has offered new insight into her wellbeing, two weeks after revealing she almost took her own life. Australian tennis favourite Jelena Dokic has offered a positive update on her mental health recovery in the wake of her raw open letter earlier this month. The 39-year-old said she almost took her own life in April and had since received professional …

Paris will get back just a fraction of a multi-billion-dollar contract torn up by Canberra Australia has agreed to shell out $589 million (AU$835 million) in compensation to French shipbuilder Naval Group after killing a major submarine deal last year as part of the AUKUS pact with the United States and Britain, in the latest effort to smooth over the …

The Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal to multicultural audiences was formally launched in the presence of media leaders, community and business leaders on 17th May 2022. The Appeal, now in its 58th year, aims to raise $36 million to support needy people around Australia, including multicultural communities.Commenting on the launch, Former NSW Opposition Leader and Former Cabinet Minister Jodi …