A cold snap has hit Australia’s south east, with temperatures in some regions dropping below zero. Many are waking up to the coldest morning of the year today, with icy winds, frost and snow for some regions. The blistering chill is being felt in parts of NSW, Victoria and inland South Australia with the mercury in the ACT dropping to ...

The prime minister’s department is mounting a costly legal battle to keep secret information the government has previously released, a situation described as “laughable”. The Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick is trying to secure the release of the navy chief’s diary as part of his attempts to investigate why a $4bn arms contract was awarded to German shipbuilder Lürssen instead of Australian ...

The 2019 Strawberry Snow Moon graced the Australian skies overnight — accordingly named because it’s when the moon turns a light pink hue. The celestial phenomenon is called the “snow moon” as there is typically snowfall in parts of the country at this time of year. The best time to see it depends on your time zone, but Sydney, Melbourne, ...

The Australian onshore immigration detention system is becoming “more and more like prison” and unlike similar operations any other liberal democracy, the Human Rights Commission has said. It is also now holding people for an average of about 500 days – far longer than any comparable jurisdiction, and is increasingly using restraints. The commission urged the Australian government to “take ...

Australia has been warned it is falling behind on measures to fight climate change in comments by a powerful voice behind the United Kingdom’s move towards zero carbon emissions by 2050. Julia King, the Baroness Brown of Cambridge, had been asked whether Australia’s bid to reduce emissions by 28 per cent by 2030 meant it was falling behind when compared ...

The home affairs secretary is seen as a Dutton loyalist; he’s also been a Labor staffer and is considered a fiercely independent mandarin. So who’s the real Mike? In June 1999, the federal Labor leader, Kim Beazley, copped a lemon meringue pie to the face during a public event in Melbourne. Beazley laughed it off. But Mike Pezzullo, now head ...

Australia should team up with Japan in Southeast Asia to keep Chinese military as far away from Australian shores as possible, a leading defence think tank has argued. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has called for a total rethink of Australia’s forward defence posture, arguing that defence planners should deploy Australian assets to bases in Japan, Guam and Papua New ...

The Australian Information Commissioner has agreed with foreign officials that releasing the full diplomatic cable which sparked the Trump–Russia investigation would damage the country’s ability to have a good relationship with the United States. The cable was written by the former Australian high commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, after the diplomat met with Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos in a London ...

Thousands of Australians have honoured the nation’s third-longest serving leader, Bob Hawke, in a state memorial service at the Sydney Opera House. Mr Hawke was prime minister from 1983 to 1991 – a period of immense national reforms. He died last month aged 89. He was honoured as an “inspirational” figure in a service attended by his family and many prominent ...

SINGAPORE: The Australian dollar on Friday (Jun 14) hit a near-six month low against the Singapore dollar as investors bet on interest rate cuts by Australia’s central bank following soft domestic economic data. The Australian currency fell to 0.9423 against the Singdollar, the lowest since it touched 0.9264 against its Singapore counterpart on Jan 3 this year, according to global ...