Like many Australians, Melissa Chomel wants to marry the person she loves. She’s been looking at wedding dresses online for months, picked a wedding car, but can’t decide between a church service or beach ceremony. But there’s no point in making firm plans yet, because she doesn’t know if the government will allow her to marry. You see, Melissa is ...

Amazon is ready for Australia. On Monday, 500 merchants will gather in Sydney to hear from the company’s Australia manager, Rocco Braeuniger, and head of seller services for Australia, Fabio Bertola, on how the whole platform will work. Separately, Business Insider understands from a reliable source that the Amazon Australia platform is ready to deploy. The timing of the merchant event and ...

Swimming star Ian Thorpe was never an advocate for Australia’s postal survey on same-sex marriage, which is due to wrap up on Tuesday. “It is really just a stalling tactic,” says the 35-year-old marriage equality campaigner and five-time Olympic gold medallist. “But I tell people the only thing worse than a postal plebiscite is not winning it.” Mr Thorpe, who ...

Well, there might not be too much surprise over the scoreline – and the 46-point margin probably reflects the Kangaroos’ second-half dominance – but the identity of the scorer of four tries cannot have been predicted. Wade Graham was the undoubted star of the show in Canberra, although it’s fair to say that the hosts would have been safe even ...

Senior Indigenous and legal voices have criticised Malcolm Turnbull for reportedly rejecting the Uluru statement in favour of a symbolic model of constitutional recognition, calling it “a despicable act of mean-spirited bastardry”. News Corp has reported that Turnbull voted against a submission in favour of the Uluru statement recommendations, which include embedding an Indigenous voice to parliament in the constitution, at a cabinet meeting ...

Australia should consider deploying police to help protect refugees and asylum seekers it has detained in Papua New Guinea, Human Rights Watch says. Australia holds refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat on PNG’s Manus Island and the Pacific nation of Nauru. The Manus centre is due to close next week. Australia has set up alternative accommodation in a nearby ...

Australia holds refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat on PNG’s Manus Island and the Pacific nation of Nauru. Canberra plans to shut the Manus centre by 31 October, but uncertainty remains over where its 900 detainees will go. The UNHCR said it was “profoundly troubled” by the “mounting risks” associated with Australia’s withdrawal. “Having created the present crisis, to ...

Australian students who attend wealthy schools have an unfair advantage in science education, an OECD report has found. The report, released in September, used the latest Program for International Student Assessment – or Pisa – results to examine the factors that impact on science education in 69 countries. When it came to access to resources, exposure to science and instructional practices, only ...

Canada has taken the first official step to purchasing used fighter jets from Australia as its dispute with Boeing continues unresolved. The Canadian government has now submitted a formal expression of interest to Australia to acquire the aircraft, Public Services and Procurement Canada confirmed. Canada began discussions in late August with the Australian government to assess the potential purchase of ...

A small group of refugees have become the first to be moved from Australia’s offshore detention centre on Manus island to the US to start new lives. The 22 men have been accepted by the US under a deal reached between Australia and the Obama administration. Another group are expected to be moved from the island nation of Nauru in ...