Australia unveils $A2.4 billion health package to combat coronavirus
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia announced a $A2.4 billion health package on Wednesday that proposes setting up fever clinics and offering cost-free facilities for people to consult doctors over video calls, as it combats the spread of the coronavirus. Australia has been struggling to contain the disease, which is expected to take a significant economic toll, with […]
Hot and dry Australia could join the ranks of “climate refugees” – US climatologist
Sydney, AustraliaReuters As global temperatures soar, Australia could become so hot and dry that the country’s residents could become climate refugees, US climatologist and geophysicist Michael Mann told Reuters. Australia is in the midst of one of its worst fire seasons on record, with bushfires burning since September and claiming the lives of 28 people, […]
Australia’s leaders unmoved on climate action after devastating bushfires
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia’s government is sticking firmly to a position that there is no direct link between climate change and the country’s devastating bushfires, despite public anger, the anguish of victims and warnings from scientists. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, say Australia does not need to cut carbon emissions […]
MSF ends mental health care on Nauru on government orders
Thomson Reuters Foundation Medecins Sans Frontieres has pulled its mental health workers off Nauru on government orders, the medical charity said on Wednesday, calling the situation of asylum seekers and refugees on the Pacific island “beyond desperate”. MSF said international staff had left Nauru, where it was providing mental health care to locals, refugees and […]
Australian inquiry recommends strengthening legislation protecting religious freedom, says media report
Last updated 10:30am An Australian Government-ordered inquiry into religious freedom in the country has recommended that the Federal Government amend the Racial Discrimination Act or create a new Religious Discrimination Act to make it illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of their religious belief of lack thereof, according to a report in […]
Australia unveils new government ministers in wake of leadership change
Peter Dutton will continue in the role of Home Affairs Minister but immigration has been split off into a separate portfolio under David Coleman as part of ministerial changes following last week’s leadership spilll which saw Scott Morrison emerge as the country’s new Prime Minister. In other news from the weekend, Julie Bishop resigned as Foreign […]
Australian PM to deliver a national apology to child sexual abuse victims
Australia’s Federal Government will deliver a formal apology to survivors, victims and families of institutional child sexual abuse in October and create a National Office for Child Safety, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced. The move was among the government’s formal response to the recommendations contained in the final report of the Royal Commission into […]
POLITICS: MARTYN ILES, NEW HEAD OF AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LOBBY, SAYS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FIGHT A KEY PRIORITY
DAVID ADAMS speaks to the new managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, Martyn Iles, about the organisation’s priorities and his own Christian journey…
Australia moves to curb trafficking in overseas orphanages
Thomson Reuters Foundation Australia on Thursday launched a campaign to stop “orphanage tourism”, which advocacy groups say has been used to exploit and traffic children in some of the world’s poorest countries. The United Nations and non-profit groups including Save the Children have warned that kids in countries like Cambodia have been taken from their homes […]
Salvation Army welcome Australian initiative to support victims of forced marriage
The Salvation Army has welcomed an Australian Government announcement that victims of forced marriage will have access to support without the requirement they help bring the pertrators to justice. Under the initiative, the Federal Government will grant access of up to 200 days of support through its Support for Trafficked People Program without the requirement they […]