Category: Australian News

The Albanese Labor Government is delivering on its election commitment to support the critical work of the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation and secure its future in supporting vulnerable Australians.

A new $10 million investment will help Reverend Crews and his team of volunteers provide more free meals, support those impacted by family and domestic violence, and deliver literacy programs for the most vulnerable Australians.

The literacy programs will be delivered through schools across New South Wales and the Northern Territory, while other services will be delivered from the Foundation’s headquarters in Ashfield and Blacktown.

The funding will also support the operation of the Foundation’s Blacktown medical clinic, which provides a range of healthcare services including medical, dental and alcohol and other drug services.

For over 30 years, Reverend Crews and a team of volunteers have provided free meals, accessible healthcare, welfare support and literacy programs for the most vulnerable Australians.

In 2023-24, the Foundation provided almost half a million meals, distributed 25,000 food hampers, and conducted almost 1,300 GP and 500 dental appointments to people in need in Sydney.

This announcement builds on the more than $460 million the Albanese Labor Government is already investing in emergency and food relief and other supports for Australians who are having a hard time.

the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese

“This investment means more free meals, support for those impacted by family and domestic violence, literacy programs for vulnerable Australians and GP and dental appointments. 

“This is a cause extremely close to my heart. I am so proud to call Bill a friend and to have seen up close the impact his work has made on many thousands of people.

the Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek

“Reverend Crews has been there time and time again for Sydneysiders in need, with hot meals, GP and dentist appointments, or just to listen to someone in pain.

“I’ve seen firsthand how Bill and his team change lives every day, including during the festive season which can be such a difficult time for many people.

“This investment will secure the Foundation’s future – to keep serving free meals, providing accessible healthcare, help with welfare support and giving people hope when they need it most.”

I have asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to lead a review into Australia’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will examine whether federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe in the wake of the horrific antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack.

The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond.

The review will be led by Dennis Richardson – a former Secretary of the Department of Defence, former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and former Intelligence Chief.  

The review will build on the work of the Independent Intelligence Review, conducted by Richard Maude and Heather Smith.

The review will be provided to the Government by the end of April 2026 and will be made publicly available.

In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi Beach, we have seen communities rally up and down the country in solidarity. We have seen the best of humanity on display – so we wanted to take a moment to share some of these stories. 

Ahmed al-Ahmed

His act of heroism has rightly made headlines all over the world, gaining praise from world leaders, the media and the public alike.

An online fundraiser set up to recognise his bravery and support his recovery has now surpassed $2.5 million in donations, as at the time of writing. You can donate to the GoFundMe to support Ahmed al-Ahmed here.

Tens of thousands register to donate blood

In the aftermath of the shooting, the Australian Red Cross made an urgent call-out for blood donations, and the community rallied across the country.

Not even two days after the attack, nearly 50,000 people across the country made appointments to donate blood and plasma. With the holiday season approaching, Lifeblood continues to encourage donations. 

Most importantly, they are looking for universal O-type blood donations that can support all individuals in need. If you can, register today to donate blood with Lifeblood.

Inter-faith solidarity and embrace 

So many pictures of resilience were shared across social media and our television screens this week.

In particular, the heartwarming image of Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins of Emanuel Synagogue and Bilal Rauf of the Australian National Imams Council embracing has stayed with us following a community vigil in Hyde Park in Sydney on Monday night. 

We saw compassion, humanity and solidarity in communities coming together to share grief. This week showed us that, together, we are so much stronger and can combat any hate. 

Strength and courage of community 

We have heard stories of strangers taking care of each other as they were alerted to the danger around them. 

Viral social media videos showed people opening their doors to those seeking shelter from the gunfire, strangers protecting pets like Matcha, who was separated from her owner in the stampede to flee the beach on Sunday, and images of lifeguards running towards the horrific scenes with life-saving medical supplies and supporting people in the immediate aftermath. 

The power of connection has also been on display in so many ways, including the crew from Disaster Recovery NSW sitting down to have conversations with people on Bondi Beach on Monday.

Community will counter hate 

There are people who want to pull our communities apart, but together, we can counter that hatred. In 2026, it is vital that we all keep actively showing up for one another.

The most effective antidote to hate is community. Building community can look like building relationships with your neighbours, reaching out to an acquaintance you don’t know so well, or sparking a conversation with your barista or someone at your gym.

By doing so, we learn that there is much more that we have in common as human beings than what divides us.

The Greens are joining the United Workers Union (UWU) in calling on the Labor Government to take urgent action to guarantee fair pay for the nation’s early childhood educators and prevent a looming pay cliff.

The call follows recent Fair Work Commission (FWC) updates to the Children’s Services Award. With the FWC’s decision to stretch long-term pay increases across several years, a dangerous gap now exists between the scheduled end of current worker retention payments and the actual implementation of the new pay increases. Currently, the expiration of interim retention payments could leave thousands of educators in this majority-female workforce facing a real-terms pay reduction just before next Christmas.

The Greens are urging the Government to bridge the funding gap and permanently lock in the 15% pay increase to ensure stability for workers and the sector.

Greens Early Childhood Education and Care Spokesperson, Senator Steph Hodgins-May:

“After a gruelling year, it is cruel and indefensible to leave educators facing the anxiety of pay uncertainty before next Christmas.

“Staggering this award increase will hurt educators during a cost-of-living crisis and threatens to destabilise the entire workforce.

“The Albanese Government must fund the gap and lock in a permanent 15 per cent pay rise that workers and their unions have been calling for.

“Our kids deserve safe, high-quality care, but that’s only possible if the educators at the heart of the system have a fair wage and a secure future.

The Victorian Greens say today’s loss of an appeal by public housing residents does not give Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government a mandate to steamroll ahead with the mass demolition and displacement of public housing communities.

Residents have spent years fighting Labor’s decision to demolish their homes without consultation and without a transparent, evidence-based case for why refurbishment was ruled out.

The Greens said the court outcome does not change the underlying policy failure at the heart of the tower demolitions, and that today’s decision is not the final word on the future of Melbourne’s public housing towers.

A recent parliamentary inquiry into the redevelopment of Melbourne’s public housing towers heard evidence calling for demolitions to be halted after the government was unable to produce documents justifying its decision. 

The inquiry also recommended that Labor’s discretionary claims of cabinet confidentiality be independently assessed by a legal arbiter, as required under parliamentary rules – a process Labor has actively defied. 

Victorian Greens housing spokesperson Gabrielle de Vietri said the decision was devastating for residents and made clear the fight to protect public housing is not over.

Victorian Greens housing spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri: 

“Residents found out through the media that Labor planned to demolish their homes, and they’ve shown extraordinary courage fighting that cruel decision, and this isn’t the end of that fight.”

“Make no mistake – the community will fight this disastrous plan every step of the way, including standing in front of bulldozers if that’s what it takes.

“In a housing crisis, Labor is demolishing public housing and rolling out the red carpet for private developers, handing over prime public land to build expensive private apartments – a choice that’s going to make renting and buying a home in Melbourne even more unaffordable.

“This plan has been shrouded in secrecy from the start. If Labor’s case stacks up, they should release the documents and let them be independently assessed. People are seeing that Labor’s mass demolition and privatisation of public housing has no legs to stand on and it is only a matter of time until the wheels fall completely off.”

The Australian Greens have welcomed the government’s announcement of a federal firearms buyback, with leader Senator Larissa Waters saying that the party would progress efforts to remove weapons from the streets.

Australian Greens Justice spokesperson Senator David Shoebridge urged the government to seize the opportunity for reform, saying the steps should also include transparency measures around weapon ownership, and banning recreational hunting as a valid cause for licensing.

The Greens’ TooManyGuns.org tool allows Australians to see how many weapons are in their local area, revealing the scale of gun ownership in our suburbs. Due to limited transparency nationally there is currently only data available for NSW. 

Despite its urban location, Bondi has 190 guns in the 2026 postcode, with one gun owner possessing a shocking 24 registered weapons. Matraville, also in Sydney’s east, has one firearm owner with a private arsenal of 295 firearms.

The Gun Safety Alliance recommends a limit of one firearm per licence holder, with extras permitted only if proven.

Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Larissa Waters said:
“We welcome the announcement of a gun buy-back. There are now more guns in the community than before the Port Arthur massacre. It’s time we built on the last gun buy-back and strengthened our gun laws to keep communities safer – at the same time as tackling antisemitism, racism and radicalisation.

“The Greens will help to get guns off our streets, and so should every member of Parliament. It should be above politics to stop the hoarding of these weapons that killed so many innocent men, women and children.

“A gun buyback with practical arrangements for surrender, secure collection, destruction and fair compensation would be a step in the right direction.

“The Greens will work across parliaments to ensure communities are safe from gun violence with fewer dangerous weapons, a national firearms register and strict limits on gun numbers. 

“Bans on rapid action and high-powered weapons in our cities and time-limited licenses with ongoing character checks would also work toward greater community safety from firearms.

“We need to take action to stop antisemitism, racism, radicalisation and gun violence, to stamp out both the hateful ideologies and dangerous weapons used to commit this horrific attack. If we unify to get as many deadly weapons off our streets, we will all be safer.” 

Australian Greens Justice spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge said:
“We welcome this move for a national gun buyback and it is important to tie it to structural changes in our gun laws that are grounded in community safety.

“No one in suburban Sydney, or anywhere in this country, should have a private arsenal of high powered weapons at their home.

“There must be a clear cap on gun numbers, with multiple weapons only permissible where police are satisfied that there is a distinct requirement based on strict criteria.

“Recreational hunting, which is the reason used to obtain some of the largest caches of deadly weapons, needs to be removed as a basis for obtaining a gun licence.

“Control of wild introduced animals is a credible reason for rural property owners and professional pest controllers to get a gun, it is not a valid reason to arm a suburban accountant or shopkeeper with a dozen hunting rifles.

“The Greens welcome this move to close loopholes and gaps in our gun laws that we, and important advocates like the Gun Safety Alliance, have been trying to close for decades.

“At this moment Australians are right to expect leadership on gun law reform and to reject the empty rhetoric seen in the US, and from some politicians here, thoughts and prayers and no action on gun safety.”

Sue Higginson NSW Greens MP and Spokesperson for Justice said:
“The Greens in the recalled NSW Parliament will work to ensure that the Minns Labor Government introduces the most effective gun laws to keep our communities safe.

“We saw the shocking danger of anyone owning more than one firearm at Bondi, which is why the Greens and advocates like the Gun Safety Alliance are calling for strict limits on gun numbers.

“We are all reeling from the devastation that can happen when the wrong people have guns, and too many guns. For many years now we have been calling out the holes in our gun laws that have led to too many guns in our communities. Now is the time to unite and fix this.”

Twenty-four organizations around the world are today calling for classification of the phrase, “toxic masculinity,” as hate speech. The organizations consider “toxic masculinity” to be a slur that is inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful. The groups are calling for print media, social media, and publications to eliminate use of this offensive phrase.

The 24 organizations are located in nine countries in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America – see listing, below.

Until the 1980s, masculinity was seen as a positive attribute: “active,” “dominant,” and “self-contained.” But over time, gender activists began to assign a variety of negative qualities to the ideal, such as “misogyny” and “homophobia” – attributes that conflate common normative characteristics with deviant traits.

Then in 2005, psychologist Terry Kupers issued a sweeping condemnation of “toxic masculinity,” which he characterized as the “constellation of socially regressive male traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence.” (1)

In response, British psychologist John Barry conducted a survey to ascertain how persons viewed the term, “toxic masculinity.” Large majorities of both men and women saw the phrase as insulting: Men: 88%; Women: 85%. (2)

A follow-up survey of over 4,000 men in the UK and Germany found that thinking masculinity is “bad for you” is significantly related to a person’s worse mental well-being (3).

Ignoring these insights, the United Nations jumped on the ideological bandwagon, issuing a guidance document in 2023, Men’s Accountability for Gender Equality. The UN report irrationally condemns “toxic masculinity” as a “key driver of violence against women and girls in all spheres of life.” (4)

The United Nations document does not cite a single scientific study to support this far-fetched conclusion. Indeed, scientists have that repeatedly documented the fact that domestic violence affects equal numbers of men and women around the world (5).

The female counterpart, “toxic femininity” is widely seen as unacceptable (6). Likewise, growing numbers of groups have called for viewing the phase, “toxic masculinity” as hateful and harmful:

• GQ: “It’s Time to Retire the Term ‘Toxic Masculinity’” (7)
• National Coalition for Men: “NCFM’s Position on Toxic Masculinity… Stop Male Bashing” (8)
• The Atlantic: “The Problem With the Term ‘Toxic Masculinity’” (9)

The following organizations are now calling for elimination of the phrase, “toxic masculinity:”

Australia

• Celebrating Masculinity
• Men’s Rights Agency

Bermuda

• Child Watch

England and Wales

• APPG on Men and Boys’ Issues
• False Allegations Support Organization
• Marriage, Sex & Culture Group
• Power and Control Wheel
• UK Falsely Accused Steering Group

Israel

• By Your Side
• Fathers for Justice

Italy

• Welcome Back Father

Malta

• Maricamicallef.com

Netherlands

• Father Knowledge Centre Netherlands
• Platform for European Fathers

Scotland

• Men Only
• Men and Boys Initiative

United States

• Colorado Resilience
• Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Men
• Domestic Violence Wears Many Tags
• Men Are Good
• Parental Alienation Consortium
• Parental Alienation Study Group
• Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)
• The Law Center

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — unites 222 member organizations from 42 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse policies are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

Links:

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.20105
2. https://cms.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/Barry%2C%20John%20-%20Reactions%20to%20contemporary%20narratives%20about%20masculinity%20A%20pilot%20study.%20Psychreg%20Journal%20of%20Psychology_1.pdfTable 3.
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10321463/
4. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/women/wg/Men-accountablity-27-12-2022-EN.pdf
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261543769_References_Examining_Assaults_by_Women_on_Their_Spouses_or_Male_Partners_An_Updated_Annotated_Bibliography
6. https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1999859658836627540
7. https://www.gq.com/story/retire-toxic-masculinity

After 82 years, the wreckage of a Royal Australian Air Force Beaufort aircraft lost during a World War II mission has been located in the rugged Baining Mountains of East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.

This discovery ends more than eight decades of uncertainty for families of the Australian crew who disappeared with the aircraft.

The crew of Beaufort A9-211 were:

• Pilot: Flight Sergeant (FSGT) John Eardley Kenny
• Navigator: FSGT Arthur John Davies
• Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: FSGT Thomas Burrowes
• Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: FSGT Murray Fairbairn

On 14 December 1943, Beaufort A9-211 from No.100 Squadron was undertaking a night mission when it reportedly encountered adverse weather conditions. Tragically, the aircraft never returned to base and was declared missing. 

In 2021, Air Force was alerted to wreckage located in the Baining Mountains. Following extensive research and analysis, the wreckage was formally identified as Beaufort A9-211. 

The Australian Government remains committed to the recovery, identification and burial of all personnel who died while serving – no matter how many years may pass.

Over the past decade, Air Force has identified seven missing aircraft, recovered remains of two aviators and accounted for 41 aviators deemed missing in action from World War II.

The search continues for the more than 3,140 missing aviators with no known grave, involving over 1,000 missing aircraft from World War II and the Korean War.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Matt Keogh:

“This aircraft discovery is significant and offers the chance to provide closure to families who have long wondered about the final resting place of loved ones.

“The Australian Government is committed to honouring the service and sacrifice of Australian military personnel from all theatres of war. 

“It is a measure of who we are as a nation that we continue to strive to find, recover and identify our missing service personnel.

“We are grateful for the support and assistance provided by authorities in Papua New Guinea throughout this process, particularly the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, without which the investigation could not have taken place.”

Today’s MYEFO has seen a massive blowout in the costs of maintaining Labor’s handouts.

• Fossil fuel subsidies continue to grow, costing an unsustainable $44.3 billion over the estimates while gas companies will pay 23% less tax under the broken PRRT
• Property investors are blowing a hole in the budget, with negative gearing soaring 18% year after year to total $29.2bn this financial year
• For multi-millionaires, the Prime Minister’s revised super tax break for them has cost the budget $4.2 billion across the forward Estimates. 

Meanwhile, the Treasurer has warned of “difficult decisions to come”, while boasting of banking all savings in this update, instead of funding services to bring down the cost of living and protect nature.

In the middle of a cost of living crisis, this shows the government continues to prioritise tax cuts for multimillionaires ahead of workers. 

The government’s weak reforms to the gas tax have also failed, drawing $500m less than anticipated, as corporations continue to evade the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax. With a 23% drop in gas tax revenue, the downgrade is as substantial as that seen on tobacco excise. 

The Greens have again reiterated that a 25% flat levy on gas exports would solve the government’s challenges of ensuring gas exporters don’t just ship it all overseas, leaving Australians with higher energy bills. 

Senator Larissa Waters, Leader of the Australian Greens said:

“We’re in a cost of living crisis, but Labor continues to put handouts for wealthy property investors, fossil fuel subsidies and multimillionaires ahead of everyone else. 

“This mini budget from Labor sees more money go towards wealthy property investors, while they’re taking less and less from multimillionaires and giant gas corporations.

“People with a dozen houses or $15 million in their super don’t need a helping hand from the government – but Labor’s continuing to put them ahead of everyone who works for a living.

“Millions of people are doing it tough trying to find a home and keep their heads above water, but Labor is still refusing to tax multimillionaires fairly, to help raise revenue to fund more for housing or essential services.”

Senator Nick McKim, Australian Greens economic spokesperson said:

“The increase in negative gearing is obscene and confirms that property speculators are the big winners from Labor’s so-called housing reforms.”

“Labor seems to have totally given up on demanding any tax from offshore oil and gas extraction.”

“This is a slap in the face to ordinary Australians who are working hard and paying tax.”

“There is so much more that could be done to make big corporations and the super wealthy pay their fair share of tax so we can invest in protecting nature and supporting the millions of Australians struggling to make ends meet.”

“Labor may have given up on a fairer economic system, but the Greens will not.”

The NSW Parliament will be recalled on Monday 22 December in the afternoon and Tuesday 23 December, the only items of business will be a condolence motion and legislation arising from the Bondi incident.

It is understood this includes stronger gun laws that will set the pace for national reform in the wake of the horrific antisemitic mass shooting in Bondi.

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance, made up of Australia’s leading public-health, community-safety and firearm-harm prevention organisations, have released a ten-point blueprint for gun reform.

Greens MP Sue Higginson has written to the Premier and to Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane offering to pass the reforms contained within the Alliance’s ten-point plan through NSW Parliament.

Greens MP and Spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said:

“The guns used to inflict the horrifying antisemitic killings and violence on Bondi beach should never have been in the hands of the hate fuelled depraved shooters and the fact that they were, is a failing of our gun laws and their implementation,

“The Premier has identified reforms to enable greater consideration of intelligence by police when licensing firearms. What he has not mentioned is that the Firearms Act already provides for consideration of criminal intelligence, but it has been limited in its application. Police need to be able to undertake and rely upon a broad range of intelligence from all intelligence agencies when we are talking about gun safety,

“The organisations working to curb gun violence have put forward an evidence-based plan to ensure some of the world’s tightest gun laws in the wake of this horror, and it’s time for us as lawmakers to unify around these reforms,

“Now is the time to heed the advice of experts, advocates and survivors and rule out recreational hunting as a genuine reason to own a firearm. We must not forget that we came very close in NSW this year to relaxing our laws around recreational hunting. It was the work of the experts and the community who stopped this,

“It’s essential that we outlaw political donations from the gun lobby. Public policymaking on an issue as serious as gun reform cannot be affixed to politics or political donations in any way,

“It is very concerning that the gun lobby and their allies are using racism to obfuscate the failures of gun control and laws in this moment, which is exactly what we see in America. Australia is not America and we cannot go down America’s path in our rhetoric or our law,

“The Greens stand willing to work with the Government and the Opposition to pass world-leading strong gun law reform through the NSW Parliament,

“In the wake of the Port Arthur Massacre we came together and walked in the right direction on gun restrictions, and now is the moment that all sides of politics must unify to walk in the right direction again,

“Of course we must also tackle antisemitism and extremism at its root, but the reality is that antisemites have used guns to murder innocent people. Removing those guns is the most immediate action we can take to curb violent extremism.”