Picture: stock The federal mid-year budget fails to address the housing crisis with a great deal of work still needed, says Homelessness Australia (HA). HA says the latest official data shows that 109,557 people had sought help to find long-term housing in 2023-24 with just 4937 finding a home. There has been a 15.7 per…
Disaster response team members board a C-17 at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, yesterday. Picture: Department of Defence Australia has sent a 64-person disaster response team to Port Vila as Vanuatu starts to recover from Tuesday’s deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake. The federal government says there has been extensive damage to buildings in, and around, the capital, Port…
Ukrainian crews training on Leopard 2 tanks in Zagan, Poland. Photo: NATO EUROPE needs to adopt a wartime mindset — again, NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte says. He was speaking at a conference organised by the Carnegie Europe think-tank in Brussels, home to NATO last week (Thursday local time). “The security situation does not look good. It’s…
The AFP’s Specialist Protective Command guards MPs in places like Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: AFP Reported threats to Australian federal MPs increased 42 percent in the past financial year, according to police figures. The Australian Federal Police says that in 2023-24, there were 1009 threats reported compared to 709 matters the year before (2022-23).…
Pentagon press officials are fielding strong media interest in drone sightings. Photo: US Department of Defence The Pentagon continues to be dogged by US media over the mysterious sightings of drones over bases and homes in New Jersey and other states. Social media is full of video footage of drones flying over houses, including at…
The Canadian parliament in Ottawa. Picture: stock Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is facing mounting calls to go after his finance minister quit and continuing trolling from US President-elect Donald Trump. Chrystia Freeland quit on Monday (local time) as she led a cabinet committee on Canada-US relations, liaising with Canada’s 10 provinces. She has since been…
The WA elections will be held on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Picture: stock West Australian Governor Chris Dawson has adjourned parliament with elections scheduled for March 8, 2025. Premier Roger Cook said current Bills that have not passed through either house of parliament must now be introduced in the next session after the elections. Parliamentary…
Lifeline has an online toolkit, text and phone support services. Photo: stock With Christmas upon us next week, Lifeline is bracing for a big spike in demand for its services from those feeling lonely. And 2024 has been a record year in the 61-year history of the organisation. Dr Anna Brooks is Chief Research Officer…
Port Vila after the earthquake struck yesterday. Photo: Twitter / X Australia has sent emergency medical and search and rescue teams to Vanuatu after it was struck by a large (7.3) earthquake yesterday (Tuesday). Another large quake (6.1) was reported this morning, according to Geoscience Australia. Unconfirmed media reports have put the death toll at…
Virgin Australia is to ‘wet lease’ Qatar aircraft and crew for their new service. Photo: Brisbane Airport The temporary blessing of Australia’s consumer watchdog has seen Virgin begin to sell tickets and market its new alliance with Qatar Airways. The alliance will result in Virgin offering 28 new weekly services from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and…