Authorities in India investigating one of the wor The Pearls group of companies scammed 50 million Indians, many of them living in poverty, out of $10 billion. Former Australian fast bowler, Brett Lee, had been the face of one of the company’s advertising campaigns — although there is no suggestion that he knew of the claims of fraudulent dealing. But ...

A man has been charged after two men were allegedly punched in the head in Sydney CBD early this morning. Police have charged a 41-year-old man with assault over the alleged attacks on a 39-year-old man and a 51-year-old in front of a fast food outlet corner of Pitt Street and Park Street at about 12:30am today. Sydney City Police ...

The 18-metre tall condom was put onto the heritage-listed structure on Friday night in the lead up to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, to be held next month, by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) health promotion organisation ACON. The organisation’s chief executive Nicolas Parkhill said the Mardi Gras was a good time to remind people that ...

Australia is now in negotiations with three countries about taking some of the asylum seekers who are now in detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island. Negotiations are under way with Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, officials said, to allow the resettlement of asylum seekers.  And less advanced discussions are taking place with three other countries as the Turnbull government ...

Federal Liberal MP and former industry minister Ian Macfarlane has announced he is quitting politics, saying sitting on the backbench was no longer an option. The Queensland MP is the fourth Liberal to announce their retirement from politics in the past week. Mr Macfarlane has held the seat of Groom for 18 years, nine of which he spent as a ...

The real problem with our asylum policies is not that supporters have a cold-blooded indifference to the plight of others. It’s that they make a conscious decision to follow a harsh approach in pursuit of a supposedly higher purpose, writes Michael Bradley. Curiouser and curiouser. Only in Wonderland could Philip Ruddock be made Australia’s Special Envoy for Human Rights. In ...

Politicians are scared of springing major reforms on us without seeking our approval first. But that’s how it has been done in the past, and contrary to popular belief, voters can get over it, writes Peter Brent. Yesterday in Parliament, Christopher Pyne confirmed what Malcolm Turnbull had indicated last weekend: that the Federal Government will not take a GST increase ...

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is calling MPs that will make up his new frontbench. The ABC understands Victorian Nationals MP Darren Chester has been offered the Infrastructure and Transport portfolio. The portfolio was previously held by Warren Truss, who announced his resignation earlier this week. There are strong indications Steve Ciobo will take on the role of Trade Minister and ...

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will announce plans on Saturday to change negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount if Labor wins the next federal election. Under costings released from the Parliamentary Budget Office, the measures could save the budget $32.1 billion over 10 years once they come into force. The key measures are: Negative gearing to be restricted ...

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he is not yet convinced that increasing the goods and services tax (GST) is a good idea. Several state premiers have thrown their weight behind the proposal, arguing the revenue from the increase could help them meet budget shortfalls. But Mr Turnbull told the ABC’s Insiders program if the Government pushed ahead with the GST ...