By: Jade Macmillan The Prime Minister criticised what he described as “crazy, rubbish” conspiracy theories about COVID-19 a day after the views of one of his backbenchers were formally condemned by Parliament. The House of Representatives took the unusual step of condemning comments made by Queensland MP George Christensen on Tuesday, after he used a speech to argue masks and ...

By: Joseph Dunstan and Bridget Rollason Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed Melburnians will spend another week in lockdown, warning if restrictions were eased now the state could rapidly find itself battling a similar outbreak to New South Wales. “This is very challenging for every single Victorian who would like to be going about their business, they would like to be ...

Three more Sydney areas have been hit with tighter lockdown restrictions after NSW recorded 345 new COVID cases and two more deaths. One of the deaths was a man in his 90s who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The Sydney local government areas (LGAs) of Bayside, Burwood and Strathfield have been deemed “areas of concern”, and will ...

By: Charis Chang A landmark new report has confirmed Australia has already warmed 1.4C with impacts already seen in many regions, particularly in the southern parts of the country. Scientists have observed changes to the Earth’s climate in every region in the world and across the whole climate system, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, ...

By: Elias Visontay and AAP About 2,500 Qantas and Jetstar employees will be stood down for two months because of domestic coronavirus border closures, in a move unions have criticised for being taken one day after the announcement of a government wage support package. Domestic pilots, cabin crew and airport workers will be stood down, mostly in New South Wales, ...

By: Jamie McKinnell The number of COVID-19 exposure sites in NSW grew so large earlier this week, health authorities abandoned listing some of them in email and social media updates. During the state’s Delta outbreak, NSW Health has been sending regular media releases detailing new venues of concern, and posting a list of close and casual contact sites on Twitter. ...

A second Victorian school has closed all of its campuses after the state health department on Wednesday confirmed a teacher at Al-Taqwa College in Melbourne’s west had tested positive to COVID-19. Ilim College said it had not had any positive cases from this outbreak, but was closing two campuses in Dallas and others in Glenroy and Doveton as a precaution. ...

  Khalil Gibran The 4th August 2021 marks the anniversary of the Port of Beirut Explosion.  It was and remains a day of infamy and tragedy for the citizens of Lebanon. The World Lebanese Cultural Union stands in solidarity with the victims, it mourns the dead and it echoes the plea for justice, transparency and an independent investigation that must ...

  Queenslanders under 60 are being discouraged from getting an AstraZeneca vaccine through a federal government-announced initiative, with authorities saying people should listen to state officials and “not the advice of Scott Morrison”. It comes as the state records three new local COVID-19 cases and the government says the unvaccinated hospital worker who sparked the state’s current lockdown caught the ...

By: Matthew Doran Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed a massive change to Australia’s coronavirus vaccination program, announcing anyone under the age of 40 can now approach their GP and request the AstraZeneca vaccine. Pfizer is the recommended vaccine for Australians under the age of 60, with states and territories now allowing people aged between 40 and 59 to book ...