Relieved to have started an autumn campaign with a win at last, Warren Gatland dismissed the notion that next Saturday’s assignment against Australia represents an opportunity to shake off another hex. The last time Wales beat Australia was 10 years and 13 matches ago. Eight of those defeats came here in the autumn. “I don’t look at that,” he said. “It is ...

A worst-case oil spill in the Great Australian Bight would be twice the scale of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, and rough seas and a lack of suitable equipment risk delaying the response effort, confidential plans show. Documents released under freedom of information laws reveal the potential dangers involved in drilling for oil in the wild, isolated seas off the ...

Will Australians travelling on Virgin Australia flights soon be rising in their seats to applaud servicemen on board as they do on most US airlines? A new campaign being driven by News Corp Australia – and which has been backed by the prime minister, Scott Morrison – aims to recognise veterans and their service using newspapers and Foxtel in association with select corporations. Using ...

It is worth remembering that Peter Dutton was almost prime minister of Australia. Yes, the man who joked about sea levels rising and “Cape York time” while standing underneath a live boom microphone was within a whisker of being the 30th prime minister. It is worth remembering such things because in our current political climate we too often live in the permanent ...

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are spearheading a charm offensive by the British royal family in Australia — and the country can’t get enough of them. Thousands flocked to meet the newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they touched down in Sydney on October 16 for a two-week tour. Cementing Australia’s special place in the Commonwealth, the couple announced ...

Considering what’s gone on in Canberra recently, is it a surprise that Australians are losing faith in the political system? “It’s a system that’s stacked against ordinary, hardworking Australians,” Chris Smith says. As a nation, we’re divided. Institute of Public Affairs research fellow Matthew Lesh is looking closely at the Australian divide in his latest book, Democracy In A Divided Australia. He tells ...

Australia’s spy agency warned ministers that Scott Morrison’s proposed shift in Middle East policy to relocate the embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem may “provoke protest, unrest and possibly some violence in Gaza and the West Bank”. Guardian Australia has obtained an Asio bulletin, marked secret, AUSTEO (Australian eyes only), circulated on 15 October – the day before Morrison’s announcement ...

Pregnant Meghan Markle, 37, keep things chic with a camel trench coat and black flats for day three of her royal tour down under with Prince Harry, 34. The Duchess was pictured hand in hand with her husband as they walked across the sand under grey skies. Her eco-friendly pumps cost £100 from Rothy’s and were recycled from the first day of ...

The Australian constitution’s power to “enable” and “permit” racial discrimination should be removed as a matter of urgency, the joint select committee on constitutional recognition has been told. Australia is “the only country in the world that has empowered our federal parliament to make laws based on race,” former social justice commissioner Mick Gooda told the committee, “and that provision ...

Scott Morrison has flagged moving Australia’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, copying Donald Trump’s controversial proposal, in a shift that appears timed to coincide with the Wentworth byelection. Guardian Australia understands moving the embassy was discussed when Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister, and Julie Bishop was foreign affairs minister, given Trump’s position – but the shift was ...