Australia wants calm in ties with Solomon Islands after “invasion” claim
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia will respond calmly to the Solomon Islands after it signed a security pact with China, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, dismissing a furious response by the leader of the Pacific nation to Western criticism of the deal. In a fiery speech to parliament on Tuesday, Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said “we […]
People flee to rooftops as “weather bomb” submerges Australian towns
Updated: 5:20pm (AEDT)Sydney, AustraliaReuters Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate as heavy rains smashed Australia’s east coast on Monday, submerging towns and stranding residents on rooftops, with authorities warning of life-threatening flash floods. Nine people have been killed since the deluge began last Thursday, and rescue teams were searching on Monday for […]
Updated: Australian religious schools would lose existing rights under amendments to the Religious Discrimination Bill, says Australian Christian Lobby
Updated 5.30pm (AEDT)Sydney, Australia Key rights currently enjoyed by Australian Christian schools under existing laws would be lost if amendments to the Federal Government’s package of Religious Discrimination Bills are passed, the Australian Christian Lobby warns. The coalition’s proposed Bill has been pulled from debate in the Senate on Thursday after five MPs crossed the […]
Religious discrimination legislation back before Australian parliament
Sydney, Australia Legislation protecting Australians’ right to practice their religion comes before federal parliament as the Autumn session begins in the capital Canberra today. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told media earlier today that the Religious Discrimination Bill will provide security to people of all faiths to worship freely. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pictured here […]
After two years of closed borders, Australia welcomes the world back
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia said on Monday it will reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers this month, ending two years of misery for the tourism sector, reviving migration and injecting billions of dollars into the world number 13 economy. The move effectively calls time on the last main component of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
Australia to offer redress payments to some of its ‘Stolen Generation’
Canberra, AustraliaReuters Australia said on Thursday it will offer redress payments of $A75,000 to some members of its Indigenous population who were forcibly removed from their families as children. More than 100,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and communities between the early 1900s and about 1970, described by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd […]
Updated: Australia urges EU to send one million COVID-19 vaccines for PNG amid fresh outbreak
Updated: 5:30pm (AEDT)Canberra, AustraliaReuters Australia said on Wednesday it will ask the European Union to release one million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to help Papua New Guinea battle a dangerous outbreak that authorities fear could spread to other parts of the region. The request could inflame existing tensions between Canberra and Brussels amid claims […]
Australia asks people to isolate more even as coronavirus spread slows
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australians were asked on Sunday to further isolate themselves from the public to keep the coronavirus from spreading even as authorities said the rate of daily infections has halved in recent days. Government officials said that public gatherings must be restricted to two people and Australians should stay inside unless shopping for essentials, […]
Australian PM advises against big gatherings amid virus outbreak
SydneyReuters Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday urged people not to gather in groups of more than 500 from Monday, but said he would still go to a weekend rugby game, as officials warned millions of residents would contract coronavirus within months. Australia has recorded 156 infections and three deaths from the flu-like respiratory […]
Australia’s devastating bushfires reflect God’s wrath, rugby star preaches
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia’s Pentecostal prime minister on Monday rebuked a former national rugby star who claimed recent deadly bushfires and a devastating drought were God’s punishment for the country allowing same-sex marriage and abortion. Israel Folau, who was sacked from a multi-million dollar rugby contract in May after posting on Instagram that hell awaited “drunks, […]