Category: Australian News

For the fourth year in a row, the Albanese Government is backing Western Australia’s most iconic fundraising event – committing $6 million to the Channel 7 Telethon Trust to help build a brighter, healthier future for children and babies across the state.

Funds raised through Telethon go directly towards medical research, essential health services, and life-changing programs that support sick, disadvantaged and vulnerable children and their families.

Over its 58-year history, Telethon has raised more than $688 million to give kids the care, treatment and opportunities they deserve.

The 26-hour televised appeal now supports 161 children’s charities and organisations, transforming lives through the power of generosity.

The Government’s contributions have already supported dozens of groundbreaking research projects into childhood cancer, mental health and gut health, as well as the purchase of vital medical equipment for hospitals and health services.

This continued investment ensures children can access the best possible care today and for generations to come.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles

“The Telethon is a wonderful West Australian tradition that brings communities together for an extraordinary cause.

“Our government is proud to once again support this important initiative, which continues to improve health outcomes for children with life-threatening illnesses and complex medical conditions.

“Every year, we’re inspired by the big-heartedness of Australians who dig deep to support Telethon.

“Every donation, big or small, helps change a young life for the better.”

The Coffs Harbour Bypass has reached a major milestone, with more than half of the project’s 21 bridges now completed – marking significant progress on one of the largest regional infrastructure projects on Australia’s east coast.

At 250 metres long and about 16.5 metres high, the twin bridges over the North Coast Railway Line are the longest and highest for the bypass.

With the piles, columns and headstocks complete, work has now begun to install 70 massive Super-T girders using a 600-tonne crane, which is the largest to be used on the project.

The Australian and NSW Governments are jointly investing $2.2 billion in the 14-kilometre Coffs Harbour Bypass, which will boost the regional economy, improve road safety and connectivity, and reduce travel times by up to 12 minutes by allowing motorists to avoid 12 sets of traffic lights through Coffs Harbour’s CBD.

The project has already delivered local benefits, including the recently opened Luke Bowen Pedestrian Bridge, providing safer crossings and honouring a local boy whose memory continues to unite the community.

By the end of 2025, only three bridges will remain under construction, with the final asphalt surfacing to be laid across all road bridges before the bypass opens to traffic in late 2026, and full project completion expected in late 2027.

Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government:

“The Coffs Harbour community have been promised this project for a long time, so it’s really welcome to see bridge construction on the bypass pass the halfway point.

“Labor Governments have delivered legacy infrastructure like the Kempsey Bypass which cut travel times and removed trucks and traffic from the town centre. We’re now a step closer to doing that again, right here in Coffs Harbour.

“The completed project will be a big boost for Coffs, and will mean a safer and more efficient drive for motorists heading up and down the upgraded Pacific Highway.”

Jenny Aitchison, NSW Minister for Roads:

“Well done to the Coffs Harbour Bypass team on this major milestone. It’s incredible to see how quickly this project is taking shape.

“This project is just one part of our efforts to build a better NSW. Once complete, the Coffs Harbour Bypass will ensure families spend less time in the car and more time with their families. It will speed up the region and improve journey times to health, education and essential services.

“But this project isn’t just about faster travel times, it’s also about protecting local waterways, flora and fauna, and maintaining local access for motorists and pedestrians.

“Alongside the M1 to Raymond Terrace extension, the completed bypass will mean people can travel from Sydney to Brisbane without hitting a single set of traffic lights – a gamechanger for regional connectivity, freight operations and road safety.”

The Albanese Government is delivering more opportunities for Australian businesses to secure high-value manufacturing contracts in the United States submarine industrial base, thanks to a $19 million investment in the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Pilot.

The Albanese Government awarded HII Australia an initial $9.6 million contract to deliver the pilot phase of the AUSSQ program in March 2025, and today we are announcing a further investment of $9.3 million to deliver additional work packages. 

The initial phase of the program, delivered by H&B Defence—a HII and Babcock joint venture—focused on prospective Australian businesses in castings and forgings, and precision machining. This second tranche of investment will focus on industry uplift activities involving air and gas flasks, and fabricated parts.

AUSSQ is helping local companies become approved suppliers to HII, the largest military shipbuilder in the US and one of two companies that builds US nuclear-powered submarines.

Twenty-two Australian businesses are already taking part, with eight now fully qualified:

• MacTaggart Scott Australia; Levett Engineering; Century Engineering; H E Parts International; Veem; Hofmann Engineering; Dobbie; and MTA.

Further, three of the twenty-two participating Australian businesses have now been invited to quote for work in the US supply chain.

• Hofmann Engineering; Veem; and Axiom.

AUSSQ complements the Defence Industry Vendor Qualification Program (DIVQ), and is part of a broader effort to grow Australia’s defence industrial base. These programs are providing hands-on support to help Australian businesses to meet US standards, navigate export approvals, and connect with global supply chains.

This industrial uplift is helping to expand Australia’s submarine industrial base and prepare for the work required to build and sustain Australia’s future fleet of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

This investment will assist Australian companies to build skills, create jobs, and strengthen our national security through industrial base collaboration with our closest ally and deliver a future made in Australia.

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

“AUKUS is delivering real benefits for Australian industry and jobs. This program is helping build a strong, sovereign submarine enterprise that will keep Australia safe for decades to come.”

“This $19 million investment is helping Australian businesses break into global supply chains and contribute to allied industrial capacity. It’s about creating jobs, growing skills, and giving our manufacturers a chance to compete on the world stage.”

The Albanese Government announces its intention to nominate Mr Andrew Shearer as Ambassador to Japan in early 2026, following completion of his term as Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence this December.

Prior to his current role, Mr Shearer served as Cabinet Secretary, and National Security Adviser to two prime ministers.

He has held a number of other public service roles including in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, when he was posted to Washington.

Mr Shearer has also held senior roles at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Lowy Institute.

The Supreme Court has struck down Labor Premier Chris Minns’ Places of Worship police powers, ruling that they violated our constitutional right to freedom of political communication.

The Court sided with Joshua Lees and the Palestine Action Group against the State of NSW to strike down the powers that allowed police to issue move on orders to people engaged in lawful protest ‘near’ a place of worship. The powers were passed earlier in 2025, after NSW Police inflated instances of alleged antisemitism and the Premier misled the public by describing the Dural Caravan hoax as an act of terror.

Greens MP and Justice Spokesperson Sue Higginson said:

“Today the Supreme Court has come down decisively on the side of protest, democracy and freedom of political expression in NSW. Labor Premier Chris Minns was warned that these police powers were rushed, wrong and likely unconstitutional. This decision today is the consequence of his failure to listen”

“Labor Premier Chris Minns rammed these powers through the Parliament to give police more draconian powers, using false pretences and inflated statistics, and now they have been struck down. The Court has made clear that the Premier of NSW was wrong to punish people exercising their right to protest,”

“This is a clear message to the Minns Labor Government that they are not above the law. People are watching genocide in Palestine, they are witnessing climate collapse, and the act of protest is legitimate, lawful, and protected under our constitution. The NSW Police must protect protest, not be used to silence it,”

“The sinister creep of these powers have already had a terrible impact. When police unlawfully busted up a protest against a weapons manufacturer in Belmore and punched Hannah Thomas in the face, they made reference to these laws in their fact sheet by mentioning that the protest was ‘near’ a place of worship,”

“When hundreds of thousands of people defied the Premier to march peacefully across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, these laws were referenced in the Courts by the Police because there happened to be churches in the CBD of Sydney,”

“It is very clear these laws and powers have emboldened Chris Minns in his attempts to suppress peaceful protests. It is a relief to see these laws struck down today,”

“Anti-protest laws have now been struck down by the Supreme Court a number of times across a number of governments, both Labor and Liberal. Governments do not have the power to stop the people from protesting, and Labor Premier Chris Minns needs to learn that lesson,”

“The solution for the Government now is clear – the entire suite of anti-protest laws in NSW should be repealed as illegitimate attempts to diminish our democracy,”

“I hope this is a wake-up call for the Premier – instead of trying to block and demonize peaceful protestors at every turn, his government should be working to facilitate peaceful protests and other functions of democracy in New South Wales,” Ms Higginson said.

Background

The NT Greens oppose the harmful changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act passed by the Finocchiarro CLP government. The reforms make three key changes:

1. Changes section 20A. The current law says it is unlawful to ‘offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate’ a person based on an attribute. This makes conduct unlawful based on the potential to cause harm. The proposed law would only make conduct unlawful if it ‘incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule.’ 
2. Introducing Section 35B, which allows religious education institutions the ability to lawfully refuse to hire, or impose behavioural rules on staff on the basis of religious beliefs. This exemption can be used if the institution publishes in writing a policy outlining their religious beliefs and how it impacts their employment processes and workplace conduct rules. 
3. Amending the complaints process so that the Commissioner is no longer required to evaluate complaints before they are brought to the tribunal. 

These amendments go against the recommendations of the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner and fail to implement the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission. 

The Greens opposed these amendments, alongside the Labor Party and the crossbench. We will always stand against discrimination in all its forms. 

Kat McNamara MLA, Member for Nightcliff

“Over the past year we have repeatedly heard that the CLP will put the rights of victims over the rights of offenders. But in this instance they’re putting the right for some in our community to engage in discrimination above the rights of others in our community to be safe from discrimination.”

“Vilification laws are essential because they are preventative – they help to prevent more serious discrimination and violence that are enabled by casual discrimination.”

“In a time when sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia are on the rise, we need to stamp out any form of discrimination in its early stages to prevent it becoming more serious.”

“The CLP wants the freedom to crack homophobic jokes and use slurs without anyone being allowed to take offense. But under this same bill, they’re saying that religious institutions can refuse to employ a gay person – not because they’re unqualified, not because they can’t do the job – but simply because their existence might offend someone’s religious sensibilities.”

“The watering down of our anti-discrimination laws is another stunt, just like the transphobic commentary from the Chief Minister earlier this week, to distract the public from the real issues facing the Northern Territory – like housing, climate, cost of living, community safety, and closing the gap.”

Today’s hearing into Labor’s FOI Bill is demonstrating that the Bill is both friendless and irredeemable.

All non-Government stakeholders have rejected it including civil society and transparency advocates as well as anyone who has ever tried to do an FOI for government information. The Bill does not fix what is broken in the FOI system. Instead it entrenches the problems by expanding Cabinet confidentiality, introducing processing caps, and removing anonymous requests.

The real problems with FOI are simple and well-documented, and none are fixed with this Bill:

• Cabinet confidentiality enabled Robodebt to flourish unchecked. The final report from Commissioner Catherine Holmes recommended repealing Section 34. The Bill expands it instead.
• FOI processing is both underfunded and slow. The OAIC overseeing this is chronically under-resourced and has 967 reviews outstanding for over 16 months. Home Affairs is the worst offender and finalises only 35% of requests on time. This reflects a culture of non-disclosure, not too many requests.
• Government ministers interfere in FOI determinations, delaying and blocking legitimate access.

Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said: “If Labor is serious about reform, they need to listen to what every credible voice has told them: this bill doesn’t work and it can’t be fixed.

“Robodebt happened because governments could hide their actions and the Greens will use our numbers in the Senate to stop that happening again.

“We need to fix the laws that make FOI slow, expensive and restrictive, which means resourcing FOI properly and challenging the increasing culture of secrecy driven by Prime Minister Albanese.

“Democracy dies unless citizens can find out what their government is doing and we have governments that trust their community with the truth.

“This bill is dead in the water and every stakeholder has said so. Rather than defend it, Labor should reflect on what’s gone wrong and work with the Parliament to chart a positive path from here.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and Spokesperson for International Aid and Global Justice, has called on the Australian Government to make a substantial contribution to rebuilding Gaza, saying Australia has a moral obligation to do so, especially given its failure to take any action to stop the genocide and destruction.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi:

“Australia has a moral obligation to contribute generously to rebuilding Gaza as part of a self-determined Palestinian state. Aid cannot just be the token amounts announced so far, it must be substantial. Aid to Gaza must be many times more than the $1.5 billion to Ukraine, given the scale of death and destruction of Israel’s genocide.

“There must be a big push to open all crossings, forcing Israel to let all the aid in and rebuild roads for faster distribution of desperately-needed food, water and other supplies.

“Australia must atone for its role in supplying F-35 parts and steel to the Israeli war machine that killed so many men, women and children. Our complicity demands accountability and reparations.

“UNRWA is the key United Nations agency providing relief and supporting the human development of Palestinian refugees. Australia must channel a significant portion of its funding through UNRWA, which it shamefully helped delegitimise based on flimsy Israeli propaganda.

“Israel has destroyed or damaged almost all infrastructure – schools, universities, hospitals and the vast majority of homes.

“Rebuilding Gaza must go hand in hand with justice and accountability. It must be coupled with holding Israel to account for the carnage it has caused and for the genocide it committed on the Palestinian people.

“The Palestinian people are not yet free. Israel still controls their borders, their movement, their aid, their resources and their future. Rebuilding must be part of a broader push for lasting freedom, justice and self-determination by Palestinians – not crony capitalists like is currently proposed.”

The Coalition extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the Australian Army soldier who tragically passed away following a training incident near the Townsville Field Training Area.

Our thoughts are also with the two other ADF personnel who were seriously injured, their families, and their fellow service members during this difficult time. 

Incidents like this are a stark reminder of the risks our Defence personnel face, even in training, in their commitment to serve and protect our nation with pride.

We also acknowledge and thank the first responders and medical teams who are providing care and support.

The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), is a tight-knit infantry unit. In times of tragedy, their strength as a community is clear. 

We extend our condolences to them as they rally around one another in the face of this heartbreaking loss.

The Minns Labor Government continues to deliver for regional NSW, today announcing that the full 42.5-tonne load limit on the Scabbing Flat Bridge at Geurie will be reinstated just in time for the 2025 summer harvest season.

The historic timber truss bridge is a key freight and farming route in the state’s Central West and the Minns Government has been carrying our essential repair and strengthening works to restore the bridge to its full load capacity and improve safety for all road users.

Over 15 months of work, repair crews have replaced ageing timber, repaired bridge piers and installed a temporary Bailey bridge to support the structure while truss restoration work continues.

The progression of the strengthening works means local farmers and freight operators will be able to move their produce across the bridge safely and efficiently this harvest season.

From noon today (17 October), the 42.5-tonne limit will be reinstated.

Some temporary traffic conditions will remain in place, including a 20 km/h speed limit and 3.4-metre lane width restriction while final truss repairs continue.

Wider vehicles will still need to use approved detours via Wellington or Dubbo, and occasional closures of up to 15 minutes may be needed to allow crews to work safely.

Once the truss work is complete later this year, the Bailey Bridge will be removed, and normal traffic conditions will return.

For real-time updates, visit www.livetraffic.com or follow “Geurie – the Bailey bridge Arthurville Road” in the Live Traffic app.

Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said:

“This is welcome news for farmers, freight operators and everyone who relies on this vital local link.

“We know how important this bridge is to farmers and the local economy, and crews have worked around the clock to make sure it was back to full strength in time for harvest.

“As the party of the bush, the Minns Labor Government is investing in regional infrastructure, fixing roads and bridges, and getting on with the job of delivering safer, stronger connections for regional communities across our state.

“I want to thank the Mayor of Dubbo Cr Josh Black who has been a tireless advocate for farmers and producers in getting this bridge re-opened.”

Labor Duty MLC for Dubbo Stephen Lawrence MLC said:

“The Scabbing Flat Bridge is critical Central West freight infrastructure, and it’s outstanding that it comes back online prior to harvest. This change means safer and more efficient transport for farmers and freight operators, and supports local jobs and the local economy.”

Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council Cr Josh Black said:

“Our community has been waiting a long time for this moment, and it’s fantastic to see the bridge back to full strength in time for harvest.

“Scabbing Flat Bridge is a vital connection for our farmers and freight operators, and these works will make a real difference to local productivity and safety.

“We thank the Minns Government for listening to the community and getting this project done.”

Head of Supply Chain for GrainCorp Josh Connell said: 

“We welcome the NSW Government’s investment in regional infrastructure. This upgrade will provide long-term value for the grain industry, helping to connect local growers to domestic and export opportunities.

“Investment that improves road access and freight efficiency is good for growers, the broader supply chain and the environment. Upgrades that enable higher productivity vehicles can lower carbon emissions while also improving safety by supporting newer equipment.

“With another busy harvest approaching in NSW, targeted investment in freight routes is essential to maintaining supply chain reliability and delivering strong outcomes for growers.”