Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has broken her silence after a video emerged of her engaged in some spirited, early-morning badinage with patrons outside a Melbourne gentleman’s club. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese questioned Ms Thorpe’s mental wellbeing after an incident in which she delivered a serve to a group of men standing outside Maxine’s, an adult entertainment venue in Melbourne’s Brunswick. …

Benched Victorian MP Moira Deeming has walked back her condemnation of the organisers of a controversial anti-trans rally while planning her return to the Liberals. Ms Deeming was suspended for attending the rally that was crashed by neo-Nazis. On Monday night she accepted her nine-month suspension after describing her rally attendance as an “error of judgement”. Ms Deeming said she looked …

A 29-year-old man has died after being shot by police in Sydney’s south-west early this morning, in what they say was a violent confrontation with two officers. It has been revealed that Hilal Barbour was the subject of an apprehended violence order. A critical incident investigation is underway after the incident in William Street, Yagoona, just before 9.00am. Police said …

Independent MP Monique Ryan has hit back with sarcasm after it emerged she told her chief of staff she wanted to become prime minister. Court documents in the legal fight over Dr Ryan’s sacking of political staffer Sally Rugg reveal that in a meeting the MP said she held lofty ambitions. “You don’t understand, I need to be the best, …

Search and rescue operations in southern Turkey and northern Syria have entered their third day as the death toll surpassed 17000  amid a warning from the World Health Organization that time was running out to save those still trapped under earthquake-toppled buildings. Those efforts – buoyed by an array of international pledges to provide engineers, emergency responders and search dogs – …

The US military has shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean after it drifted off the East Coast. The order was given by President Joe Biden and came after he earlier told media that Washington would “take care of” the surveillance device. Media are reporting that recovery efforts are underway to collect the remnants of the …

The US has rejected China’s excuse for a ‘spy’ balloon that was tracked flying across America, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed an upcoming trip to Beijing. In the first admission the device was connected to China, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed “regret” at the “unintended entry of the airship into US airspace”. The ministry claimed the balloon was …

Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds is pursuing defamation action against Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz. In a writ lodged with the Supreme Court of Western Australia, the local senator claimed Mr Sharaz falsely defamed her via two tweets posted in 2022. Ms Higgins alleged she was raped in 2019 by Bruce Lehrmann inside Senator Reynolds’ ministerial office, for whom they both worked …

Four people have been confirmed as dead among 13 injured – three critically –  after two helicopters collided before one crashed into the Broadwater on the Gold Coast. One chopper ended up upside down on a sandbar at the water’s edge with debris strewn around the area after the crash about 2pm on Monday near the Sea World theme park …

An Adelaide man has taken to social media to describe a disastrous experience with scammers on New Year’s Eve, saying he and more than 100 other revellers were conned by a fake yacht party. TikTok user Jayden Clark said he paid more than $100 for a ticket for a boat party which was supposed to be picking up a large group of people at Glenelg shortly …