Canberra sets wording of Indigenous Voice referendum

The Australian government yesterday released the wording of a referendum question that promises the nation’s Indigenous population a greater say on policies that effect their lives.

Defense minister nuclear subs needed to counter militarization

Australia's defense minister said yesterday a deal to buy nuclear-powered attack submarines from the United States was necessary to counter the biggest conventional military buildup in the

Australian leader plans meeting with Biden after India trip

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday he plans to meet with President Joe Biden in the United States following a trip to India this week,

Spy boss details unprecedented espionage danger

Australia faces an unprecedented threat of espionage and foreign interference with more Australians being targeted by agents than ever before, the head of the nation’s main domestic

Wife of former US pilot complains of Australian treatment

The wife of a former U.S. military pilot accused by the United States of illegally training Chinese aviators said yesterday her husband was being held in inhumane

Australian Defense Department to remove Chinese-made cameras

Australia's Defense Department will remove surveillance cameras made by Chinese Communist Party-linked companies from its buildings, the government said yesterday after the U.S. and Britain made similar

Tiny radioactive capsule lost triggers search

Authorities in Western Australia were searching for a tiny but potentially deadly radioactive capsule that got lost while being transported on a truck from a mine to

FM Wong ‘deeply troubled’ by Chinese espionage case

Australia's foreign minister said yesterday her government was “deeply troubled” by the delays in China resolving espionage allegations against Chinese-Australian Yang Hengjun, while a supporter said the

Albanese steps up calls for US to drop WikiLeaks charges

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he recently told U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to bring WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange’s prosecution to a

Australian PM raises trade ‘blockages’ with President Xi

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he raised with President Xi Jinping yesterday his concerns about trade “blockages,” but did not walk away from their first face-to-face

Australia to block former military pilots flying for China

Australia's defense minister said yesterday he had told the nation’s military to review secrecy safeguards in response to concerns that “Beijing was recruiting pilots to train the

Australian PM hopes for meeting with President Xi at summit

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping would be a “positive thing” if one can be arranged on the

Extortionist threatens to publish customer data

An extortionist has threatened to make Medibank customer data public within 24 hours after Australia’s largest health insurer refused to pay a ransom for the personal

Police offer $633,000 reward for Indian suspect

Australian police offered a 1 million Australian dollar ($633,000) reward yesterday for information on the whereabouts of an Indian national who is suspected of murdering a woman

New government to raise spending to boost slowing economy

Australia's new government released plans yesterday for more spending on families, the elderly, defense and its Pacific neighbors as the country braces for an economic slowdown

Australia demands Optus pay for new customer IDs after breach

Australia’s federal and state governments yesterday called for Optus to pay for replacing identification documents including passports and driver’s licenses to avoid identity fraud after 9.8 million

Miner Fortescue reveals USD6.2 billion carbon plan

Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group announced on yesterday a $6.2 billion plan to eliminate fossil fuels and carbon emissions from its operations by the

US envoy says Russian invasion speeds shift to clean energy

Russia's invasion of Ukraine will accelerate the world’s shift to renewable energy because of price shocks in oil and gas, a U.S. climate envoy said yesterday.

Australia calls for cooling of Taiwan tensions

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday called for a cooling of tensions after Beijing accused her of “finger-pointing” in her criticism of China’s military exercises in

Parliament considers lifting euthanasia ban

A new bill was introduced in the Australian Parliament yesterday seeking to lift a 25-year ban on doctor-assisted dying in two territories. Australia’s sparsely populated Northern

China’s envoy says two nations at ‘new juncture’

China's ambassador to Australia says relations between the two countries are at a “new juncture” with the election of a new Australian government and the first minister-to-minister

PM Ardern to visit counterpart Albanese in Sydney

Australia's new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has held face-to-face meetings with the leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Indonesia during his hectic two weeks

New government includes record 13 women ministers

Australia's new government sworn yesterday includes a record 13 women, including the first female Muslim to serve in the role and the second Indigenous person named

New opposition leader says China ‘biggest issue’

Former Defense Minister Peter Dutton was chosen yesterday to lead Australia’s conservative opposition following the party’s election defeat nine days ago. Defeated Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Australia’s government urges Beijing to remove trade barriers

Australia's new government has urged China to lift trade sanctions if it wants to reset a bilateral relationship that plumbed new depths under the previous administration.

Premier Li congratulates Albanese on election win

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wrote to congratulate Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his election victory, which some Australian media reported yesterday was a thawing of bilateral

Morrison won’t say who might attend Tokyo summit

Australia's opposition leader Anthony Albanese said yesterday that he will begin rebuilding trust in his nation if he wins weekend elections and attends a summit with

Sydney man gets 12 years for murdering gay American in 1988

An Australian man was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison yesterday for the 1988 murder of an American who fell off a Sydney cliff

China considers imposing tariffs on Australian wine

China today (Tuesday) launched an investigation into whether Australia is exporting wine at improperly low prices in a new dispute between major trading partners that could reduce access to the

Chinese in Sydney fall victim to ‘virtual kidnapping’ scam

Australian police have revealed that Chinese students based in Sydney are being forced to stage photos and video of themselves bound and blindfolded in an extortion scam described as virtual

Breaking News: Australia and East Timor settle bitter border differences

Australia and East Timor will sign a treaty that draws the first-ever maritime border between the neighbors, resolving years of bitter wrangling with a deal that carves up billions of

Australia | Gov’t detains Malaysian killer but won’t allow execution

A fugitive detained in Australia has created a diplomatic problem for the Australian government which cannot by law extradite someone who could face capital punishment. Sirul Azhar Umar, a 43-year-old former

Australia | Swelters through its third-hottest year in 2014

Australia sweltered through its third-hottest year on record in 2014, following a record hot 2013, weather authorities reported yesterday. The southern spring from September through November last year was Australia’s hottest on

Australia | Sydney siege spurs demand to know why gunman was on bail

  Australian authorities are probing why the gunman responsible for a deadly Sydney hostage-taking was free on bail and not on a watchlist, despite his history of violence and extremist sympathies. Man

Australia | Abbot pledges support for Ukraine

Australia pledged its support for Ukraine during a visit by the nation’s president yesterday, with Australia’s prime minister calling for an end to the bloody conflict in Eastern Europe and Ukraine’s

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