An Australian citizen tried for espionage in Beijing last week has told supporters he’s “100 per cent innocent” and still isn’t sure which country he’s accused of spying for. Yang Hengjun conveyed a message to family and supporters on Friday, a day after he was tried behind closed doors in Beijing. The 56-year-old one-time employee of China’s state security agencies …

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is refusing to apologise to former Australia Post Chief Executive Christine Holgate after she accused him of “bullying” her in the wake of the Cartier watch scandal. Ms Holgate told a Senate inquiry yesterday that she believed she was forced to stand aside by the chair of the company because the Prime Minister had “instructed” it. Ms Holgate …

WARNING: Some readers may find the following content distressing Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed a government staff member’s sacking after graphic images of sex acts inside Parliament House were leaked. The images and videos of government staffers performing the lewd acts in Canberra were revealed by a whistleblower who says “now is the time to speak up”. The man, …

People northwest of Sydney have been ordered to evacuate their homes amid unrelenting heavy rain that’s causing surging rivers to break their banks. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning that extends over half of NSW. Major flooding is occurring along the Colo River in the Hawkesbury region and the State Emergency Service ordered around 200 residents out on Tuesday morning. …

PM Scott Morrison has suggested a Liberal staffer sacked for verbally abusing a female political opponent used vile language on other occasions. Federal government adviser Andrew Hudgson lost his job after being accused of yelling a horrendous slur at Tasmanian Greens leader Cassy O’Connor in 2019, while he was working for the premier. The Department of Premier and Cabinet investigated the incident …

Scott Morrison has defended his handling of rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, who is now suing the ABC for defamation. The Prime Minister is seeking legal advice on what duties Mr Porter may need to relinquish while he pursues the legal action. But Mr Morrison has refused to seek independent advice on whether the Attorney-General is a fit and …

What can we do with Australia’s property market, with soaring prices and rental shortages in many regional areas of Australia, from WA’s Pilbara to Hobart in Tasmania? While more than 60 per cent of Australians own their own home, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows home-ownership rates for people aged under 40 are declining, part of a trend of intergenerational inequality and a growing gap between …

A woman who blackmailed a grieving couple over a lost phone containing photos of their dying daughter will stay behind bars, after Victoria’s highest court knocked back her appeal. Siti Kamal, a 26-year-old Malaysian national, was jailed last year for blackmailing Jay and Deanne Windross while their 11-month-old daughter, Amiyah, was dying in the Monash Children’s Hospital. Days earlier, Ms …

A criminal gang spent months terrorising the Sydney family of a senior Iraqi politician in an attempt to extort up to $10 million from him, police say. Authorities in NSW and Canada have arrested four people over a series of attacks on the Chester Hill home of Ahmed Al-Asadi’s wife and five children. Mr Al-Asadi is a dual Iraqi/Australia citizen …

Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial could conclude on Saturday, leaving a divided U.S. Senate to decide whether the former president incited his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a last-ditch effort to stay in power after his November election defeat. Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial …