A photo of a baby bird clutching a cigarette butt is being held up as the latest example of the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. The photo of the skimmer chick was taken by birdwatcher Karen Mason on a Florida beach. In a second shot, an adult skimmer bird can be seen passing the rubbish to the chick. …

National Australia Bank modelling has cast doubt on the belief the tax refunds that will soon start flowing into taxpayers’ bank accounts will stimulate the economy in a meaningful way. The Government’s tax cuts passed through Parliament last week, with stage one soon to be seen in bank accounts as people lodge their tax returns. On past behaviour, UBS economists …

Unsubstantiated or higher-than-expected tax deductions relating to cars, travel, clothing, mobile phone and internet use, and rental properties are among the top claims the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be eyeing this tax time. Each year, almost 14 million Australians lodge income tax returns and claim tens of billions of dollars in tax deductions, the highest being for work-related expense …

A company has been handed a $2.3 million fine by the Federal Court for selling thousands of pieces of fake Aboriginal art. The court found Birubi Art breached Australian consumer law and misled customers by promoting its products as genuine Aboriginal art, when in fact they were painted in Indonesia. The company sold more than 18,000 boomerangs, bullroarers, digeridoos and …

Malcolm Turnbull has called on Scott Morrison to “deal with” Peter Dutton after allegations that the immigration minister met the former Australian resident billionaire Huang Xiangmo after he paid $10,000 to a lobbyist. Turnbull , who introduced foreign interference laws in 2017, said the allegations contained in a Four Corners report regarding a meeting between Dutton and Huang following a …

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has called for regulators and governments to play a “more active role” in establishing rules that govern the internet. Mr Zuckerberg, whose company is under pressure for failing to adequately police hate speech and protect user privacy on its platform, wrote in an opinion piece for the Washington Post that a “standardised approach” …

Domestic violence prevention programs will get a $328 million funding boost from the federal government as part of an ongoing national strategy to curb violence toward women. The package includes $82 million for frontline services, $68 million for prevention strategies and $78 million for safe places for family violence victims. “This is about changing attitudes to violence, and helping those …

A US senator has said that she was raped by a superior officer while serving in the Air Force. Senator Martha McSally, who was the first female US fighter pilot to fly in combat, was speaking at a hearing on sex assaults in the military. The Arizona Republican said she did not report the rape as she felt ashamed and …

It was four years of the good life for Rosemary Rogers. A one-month family holiday to Europe worth almost $188,000, where accommodation alone cost $70,000. An ongoing supply of bank cheques worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and prepaid credit cards, one alone worth $37,000. Numerous trips and private helicopter transfers to the exclusive Emirates resort at Wolgan Valley, a …

Australian housing prices have experienced their steepest drop since the global financial crisis, according to property analysts CoreLogic. On a national basis, property prices fell 4.8 per cent last year — driven mainly by sharp declines in Sydney (-8.9 per cent) and Melbourne (-7 per cent). The latest figures from CoreLogic show national dwelling values have slumped 5.2 per cent …