Secretary-General of the OECD and former Coalition finance minister Mathias Cormann suggests Australians keep an open mind to nuclear power, saying there isn't "anything inherently partisan" about the energy source.

Tasmania Police are reviewing Facebook comments made in response to a Labor post on a pro-greyhound racing page, after the state's racing minister was subjected to slurs and threats.

A man whose car was swept away by floodwater, killing a five-year-old boy, has told a court driving across the flooded causeway was the worst decision of his life.

A "bubble curtain" is set for activation as part of South Australia's fight against the ongoing algal bloom, as the state government defends its handling of health advice.

Wade Death was standing in his shed just minutes before it was ripped apart by a twister in Central West NSW.

Vaccine does not require anaesthetic or booster shots, giving researchers hope it can be rolled out to wild populations Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here A single-dose vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia has been approved for use around Australia for the first time, a move wildlife carers say offers hope for a “heartbreaking” situation. Crucially, no booster shot is required, giving researchers hope that the vaccine can eventually be used in the wild. “It’s difficult to catch a koala once, let alone two or three times,” says Dr Sam Phillips, a microbiologist who has spent almost a decade working on the vaccine. Continue reading...

A report has found Sydney Water did not perform an "appropriate level of due diligence" before it claimed in June 2024 there were no known PFAS hotspots within its drinking water catchments.

The ACT's superb fairy-wren population has declined by 60 per cent since counting began in the 1980s, but this last winter the figures were even worse, new research has revealed.

The major drenching is unusual for early spring and resulted in Sydney's wettest September day since 1879.

Torrential rains cause flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the tourist island of Bali Flooding in Bali, Indonesia – in pictures Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 15 people who have died in flash flooding in two Indonesian provinces, while authorities said 10 others were missing. Torrential rains beginning on Monday caused flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the island of Bali. Continue reading...

More attention needs to be given to rapidly evolving issue of contamination of waterways with ‘forever chemicals’, committee’s chair says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Sydney Water did not perform “an appropriate level of due diligence” before claiming there were no known PFAS hotspots within its drinking water catchments, a state parliamentary committee has found. The New South Wales upper house committee tabled its 16 findings and 32 recommendations on Thursday following an inquiry triggered by reporting in the Sydney Morning Herald that detected elevated levels of some “forever chemicals” in parts of Sydney’s drinking water catchment. Continue reading...

The winds have been generated by a low-pressure system near the New South Wales coast.

Some days it can feel as if climate catastrophe is inevitable. But history is full of cases – such as the banning of whaling and CFCs – that show humanity can come together to avert disaster Once upon a time, the world was powered by whale. Oil made from whale blubber burns cleanly and well, though it smells strongly of fish. It was, for a while, the perfect fuel. To meet the growing demand, whales were hunted almost to extinction. And then we discovered that oil could come from the ground. Lamps once lit by rendered blubber were swiftly changed over to run on what Americans call kerosene and the British call paraffin. Later, those lamps were changed to run on electricity, and instead of burning oil in the lamps themselves, we began to burn it in power plants miles away. Continue reading...

Light rail passengers rescued in Randwick on Wednesday night as severe weather warnings remain in place across NSW Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two tornadoes, record-breaking rain and large hail have hit New South Wales in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, as supercell thunderstorms and a band of rain sweep the state. Heavy downpours triggered a surge in calls for assistance. Collaroy (Long Reef golf glub): 108mm Sydney Botanic Gardens: 116mm Rose Bay (Royal Sydney golf club): 110mm Randwick (Randwick St): 145.8mm Marrickville golf club: 81mm Peakhurst golf club: 113mm Cronulla South bowling club: 147mm Campbelltown: 99mm Camden airport: 77.8mm Continue reading...

Heavy rain has caused flash flooding across Bali, forcing evacuations across the popular tourist destination Flash floods in Indonesia leave at least 15 people dead and 10 missing Continue reading...

The theft of a rifle model from a statue of a soldier on Thirroul's historic World War I memorial has dismayed members of the local RSL.

Wildlife Victoria and Hume City Council are among those calling for mandatory wildlife crash reporting in Victoria, after two women die trying to help an injured animal.

And are we part of the problem? See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here Continue reading...

The Northern Territory's mud crab industry will temporarily shut down after a fisheries assessment found stock numbers had fallen below a "trigger point".

Tourists flock to Magnetic Island to see its unique coral reefs, but locals say underwater visibility is getting worse — and some blame dredging.

Australian says: ‘The club wants more – that’s what I want’ Postecoglou replaced Nuno Espírito Santo on Tuesday Ange Postecoglou says he is determined to take Nottingham Forest back to “its rightful place” in English football. Postecoglou sealed a rapid return to the Premier League on Tuesday when he was appointed as Nuno Espírito Santo’s successor at the City Ground – only four months since being sacked by Tottenham. Spurs parted company with Postecoglou despite a first trophy for the club in 17 years with Europa League success in May, and with the two-time European Cup winners Forest back in a continental competition for the first time in three decades the 60-year-old is full of excitement about the challenge ahead. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese has long argued being serious on climate change is the "entry fee" for credibility in the Pacific.

Australia's move to expand Woodside's North West Shelf gas project has not been welcomed in the Pacific, which is fighting the most dramatic effects of climate change.

Exclusive: Unicef-commissioned report shows being unable to finish high school – and the associated wage loss – is the most significant impact of increasingly frequent disasters on young people Kangaroo Valley was hit by raging fires and floods three times in three years. In 2019, the black summer bushfires had forced Layla Wang’s family to flee their home. Then in 2022, after floods and landslides isolated the valley, she was trapped there, spending several “stressful” weeks isolated from school – in the middle of year 12, with no access to her classes and limited resources. Continue reading...

Study shows how individual fossil fuel companies are making previously impossible heatwaves happen and could have to pay compensation Carbon emissions from the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies have been directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for the first time, according to a new analysis. The research has been hailed as a “leap forward” in the legal battle to hold big oil accountable for the damages being caused by the climate crisis. The research found that the emissions from any one of the 14 biggest companies were by themselves enough to cause more than 50 heatwaves that would otherwise have been virtually impossible. The study shows, in effect, that those emissions caused the heatwaves. Continue reading...

Strawberries and cream meets Eton mess, using just a single egg white and past-its-best summer fruit – a towering success Just a single egg white can be transformed into enough elegant meringue shards to crown more than four servings of pudding, as I discovered when, earlier this year, I was invited by Cole & Mason to come up with a recipe to mark London History Day and decided to do so by celebrating the opening of the Shard in 2012. Meringue shards make a lovely finishing touch to all kinds of desserts, from a rich trifle to an avant-garde pavlova or that timeless classic, the Eton mess. As for the leftover yolk, I have several recipes, including spaghetti carbonara (also featuring salt-cured egg yolks that make a wonderful alternative to parmesan) and brown banana curd. Continue reading...

The acting mayor of the Gold Coast warns that efforts to replicate Brisbane's bus network may be abandoned before they even begin a week after the state government scrapped a light rail plan for the city's south.

Only two debut albums – including the ‘token’ jazz release – feature among this year’s list of nominations for the coveted UK and Irish music prize A raft of familiar names fill this year’s list of Mercury prize nominations, with only two debuts among the 12 shortlisted albums. In Limerence, the first full-length by the Scottish folk songwriter Jacob Alon, and Hamstrings and Hurricanes, the first by Welsh jazz musician Joe Webb, will compete with the likes of Pulp’s comeback album More, folk godfather Martin Carthy’s Transform Me Then Into a Fish and the UK’s biggest-selling new album of the year so far, People Watching by Sam Fender. The list is split 50/50 between male and female or mixed acts. The solo female artists on the list tend to the iconoclastic: Irish pop star CMAT’s acclaimed third album Euro-Country, Leeds jazz musician Emma-Jean Thackray’s Weirdo, FKA twigs’ Eusexua and PinkPantheress’s mixtape Fancy That. As for bands, as well as Pulp, the Irish band Fontaines DC (Romance) and London four-piece Wolf Alice (The Clearing) appear. Continue reading...

Access to Indonesian island’s international airport near Denpasar was limited as only trucks could use the roads, according to government Floods on Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali have killed at least six people this week and blocked off major roads in the capital, disrupting a busy travel destination. Torrential rain since late Tuesday triggered flooding across four districts of Bali, forcing the evacuation of 85 people, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement. Continue reading...

‘Abrupt shift’ in policy since Trump took office will have major consequences for climate crisis, forecast says A jump in greenhouse gas pollution in the US helped push global emissions higher in the first half of this year. This could be an omen of what’s to come, with Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel agenda set to significantly slow down the emissions cuts required to avoid disastrous climate impacts, a new forecast has found. The “most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory” that has occurred since Trump re-entered the White House will have profound consequences for the global climate crisis by slowing the pace of US emissions cuts by as much as half the rate achieved over the past two decades, the Rhodium Group forecast states. Continue reading...

Heavy rainfall forecast to continue in Sydney on Thursday as low pressure weather system heads for parts of Queensland Two groups have been rescued from flooding and while a tornado warning for central New South Wales has been downgraded as large parts of the state brace for a further battering of rainfall and heavy winds from a low pressure system off the Tasman Sea. The NSW State Emergency Service said it had responded to more than 90 incidents in the past 24 hours, including flood rescues for a motorist who had driven off a cliff face at Camden Bypass and a group of bushwalkers trapped by floodwaters at Wattamolla. Continue reading...

The owners of the Olive Downs mine in central Queensland have been ordered to pay cattle breeder James Gorman almost $53 million.

Bali has been rocked by unusual and deadly flooding as heavy rains inundate homes, major roads and force large evacuations.

An exotic pest that kills pine trees and can be spread by humans has felled more than 900 trees in Adelaide.

Weakened demand for a specific pigment used in paint has prompted Iluka Resources to suspend a significant portion of its West Australian operations.

This summer, locals and tourists enjoyed new river-bathing sites. As global heating escalates, we need more of these ‘cool islands’ Sign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and more After la rentrée, when adults and children alike across France head back to work and school after the seemingly endless summer holidays, you would be forgiven for thinking autumn is upon us. But, weather permitting, enthusiastic swimmers in Paris will be able to prolong that holiday feeling into September – by taking a dip in the River Seine. For nearly 100,000 swimmers, one of the highlights of this summer in the city has been being able to take a splash in the cool river waters at one of the three free public bathing spots, made available this year for the first time in over a century. Helen Massy-Beresford is a journalist based in Paris Continue reading...

Ethiopia opens Africa's largest dam in a project expected to be transformational for the power-deprived continent — but it is a subject of a bitter three-way dispute impacting millions of people.

There are severe weather warnings across parts of NSW, with rain, strong winds and hail predicted.

Authorities are defending the handling of changed public health advice relating to South Australia's algal bloom, amid ongoing warnings to asthmatics about contaminated sea spray.

Heavy rain has raised hopes in far western NSW, where graziers had started destocking due to prolonged dry conditions.

The new Nottingham Forest coach will be better for his two years at Spurs and has unfinished business in Europe after his sacking Ange Postecoglou is used to mixed reactions when he takes a new job. So the response of Nottingham Forest fans to his appointment on Tuesday was par for the course. At Yokohama F. Marinos in 2018, fans were nonplussed at this Australian coming in. At Celtic, it was a case of, “Ange Who?” At Tottenham Hotspur two years ago, there were concerns about how a coach who had worked all over the world but never in a big European league would manage in the Premier League. Earlier in his career, doubters had been won over with trophies. When he moved on, fans from Australia to Japan to Scotland were sad to see him go. At Spurs it was more complex. The initial scepticism quickly transformed into loving Big Ange, and then into something else again. The second season a trophy was won, the biggest for Tottenham since at least the FA Cup of 1991, but as the club came 17th in the league, the axe fell. That has been an unfamiliar scenario for the 60-year-old. Continue reading...

Tunnel workers on the country's largest renewable energy project have accepted a 8.5 per cent pay increase and improvements to working conditions.

The incident involving Navya Nair highlights a common concern facing many visitors to Australia — what can be brought in without the risk of breaching strict biosecurity laws?

About 300 people are sheltering in Mowanjum as a bushfire threatens their small Indigenous community.

Bob Irwin and animal rights organisations say Mike Holston – AKA ‘The Real Tarzann’ – should be deported from Australia Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Online content creators who engage in “reckless stunts” with crocodiles should have so-called “dickhead legislation” thrown at them, and international influencers that do so in Australia should be “booted out the door”, Bob Irwin says. The father of the late “Crocodile Hunter”, Steve Irwin, and lifelong crocodile advocate issued the rare statement after Queensland authorities confirmed they were investigating US influencer Mike Holston – who goes by the online moniker “The Real Tarzann” – for wrestling with wild crocodiles. Continue reading...

The tiny lamb that captured the hearts of Australians during COVID has died, leaving a heartbroken family behind.

Less than a year after its announcement, the Department of Defence quietly scraps a procurement promising to scale up production at Thales Australia's north-east Victorian facility.

A groundbreaking study has revealed the extraordinarily rich biodiversity of Australia's islands and experts say it shows tighter controls are needed to protect the most diverse island of them all.

Recreational fishers and commercial guides fear being locked out of some of Western Australia's most pristine waters under plans to protect the globally significant Exmouth Gulf.

A man has gone overboard off Queensland's western cape early this morning, sparking a major air search.

Indigenous mental health worker Bill Ring says Kalgoorlie's housing shortage and a lack of support from the WA Country Health Service have left him struggling to find a permanent home.

A WA government department says the state’s new firearms laws are causing headaches for a program which responds to reports of injured and suffering animals on the roadside.

A single-dose koala chlamydia vaccine is granted approval for frontline use across Australia.

The president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, takes aim at world leaders for their inaction on climate change, saying the upcoming World Championships will face "heat challenges" due to a Tokyo heatwave.

It's barely the size of a sesame seed, but the shot hole borer has quickly devastated Western Australia's tree canopy. Experts are warning other states and territories to take action now to avoid a similar fate.

Just a month after learning of a remote observatory run by a single volunteer, Rebecca Tayler and Richard Wilkin were handed its keys. These days, the observatory is part of a "star trail" for astronomy enthusiasts.

Raids by rival hives aren’t rare after a dry, hot summer, but Christine McDonald was surprised to find her store besieged A Canadian beekeeper has described fending off thousands of “robber bees” as they raided her shop in a brazen attempt to steal honey. Christine McDonald, who owns Rushing River Apiaries in the British Columbia city of Terrace, said she entered her shop to find it overrun by the swarm. Continue reading...

A new report called Pitches In Peril says by 2050, nearly 90 per cent of North America's host stadiums will require adaptation to extreme heat.

The party’s grassroots campaigners urge leadership to ignore business warnings about cost of setting ‘ambitious’ target Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor’s grassroots environmental action network wants the Albanese government to adopt a 2035 emissions reduction target of at least 70% as a show of global climate action leadership, countering warnings from big business about the cost of such a goal. In her first interview as the new co-convener of Labor Environment Action Network (Lean), Louise Crawford also said she had faith the government would finally deliver long-awaited reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) after plans collapsed in the previous term. Continue reading...

Cow | Deer gets ‘between the ears’ of animals, creating mouse noises with polystyrene balls and comparing wild creatures with industrialised ones. So if there’s no dialogue, what did its writer do? Director Katie Mitchell reveals all ‘I’m really into cow farming,” says Katie Mitchell. It seems an unexpected interest for one of Europe’s most rigorous, eco-conscious theatre directors. But she was “brought up in the 1970s self-sufficiency movement, in the Brecon Beacons”, and now has “a little place in Wales, opposite a cow farm”. Mitchell is talking dairy farming in a dressing room in London’s Royal Court theatre. We’re sitting with sound artist Melanie Wilson and playwright Nina Segal, her collaborators on a radical wordless project, Cow | Deer, which goes “between the ears” of its title characters. Tucking into Ottolenghi takeout during a rehearsal break, they describe how they are putting animals at the play’s centre and making sound its medium. Continue reading...

Garnet fire threatens historic grove in Sierra national forest as it moves through Fresno county at 14% containment Firefighters in California are racing to protect a historic grove of ancient giant sequoia trees in the Sierra national forest as the Garnet fire continues to spread through Fresno county. The Garnet fire, which began on 24 August and was caused by lightning, reached McKinley Grove on Monday, the US Forest Service said. The grove is home to about 170 giant sequoia trees, some estimated to be 2,000 years old, according to the non-profit Save the Redwoods. Continue reading...

Figure calculated by Oil Change International has more than doubled since 2017 but is likely a vast understatement The US currently subsidizes the fossil-fuel industry to the tune of nearly $31bn per year, according to a new analysis. That figure, calculated by the environmental campaign group Oil Change International, has more than doubled since 2017. And it is likely a vast understatement, due to the difficulty of quantifying the financial gains from some government supports, and to a lack of transparency and reliable data from government sources, the group says. Continue reading...

World Cup may be forced into winter in future Reports also looks at risks for 2030 and 2034 editions The 2026 World Cup could be North America’s last without urgent climate adaptation, according to a new study highlighting extreme weather threats. The Pitches in Peril report found that 10 of the 16 venues are at very high risk of experiencing extreme heat stress conditions. By 2050, nearly 90% of North America’s host stadiums will require adaptation to extreme heat while one third will face water demand equalling or exceeding supply. Continue reading...

Postecoglou back in work three months after Spurs exit Marinakis: ‘Ange has the credentials’ Ange Postecoglou has been confirmed as Nottingham Forest’s head coach, taking over from Nuno Espírito Santo. The Australian is back in work three months after he was dismissed by Tottenham and his contract is understood to run until 2027. The appointment allows Postecoglou to attempt to win the Europa League once more, having won with Spurs before being sacked 16 days later. Forest are in the competition after Crystal Palace were denied entry by Uefa. Continue reading...

Nuno exit was inevitable after he went public but successor will need to win over squad and learn from errors Crossing the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, is rarely a wise move. When Nuno Espírito Santo went public about the deteriorating relationship between the two most important men at the City Ground, a parting of ways became inevitable. Nuno deserved better after leading Forest back to Europe after 30 years away and his popularity within the club means it will be difficult for Ange Postecoglou to replace him. Players and staff will not immediately embrace the change because of the admiration and warmth they felt for Nuno. Continue reading...

Ethiopian PM says dam will electrify entire region but Egypt fears it could restrict water supply during droughts Ethiopia has officially inaugurated Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, a project that will provide energy to millions of Ethiopians while deepening a rift with downstream Egypt that has unsettled the region. Ethiopia, the continent’s second most populous nation with more than 120 million people, sees the $5bn (£3.7bn) Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam (Gerd) on a tributary of the Nile River as central to its economic ambitions. The dam’s power has gradually increased since the first turbine was turned on in 2022, reaching its maximum capacity of 5,150MW on Tuesday. That puts it among the 20 biggest hydroelectric dams in the world – about one-quarter of the capacity of China’s Three Gorges dam. Continue reading...

The faded resorts and coastal towns of Tendring in Essex offer few job opportunities but many of its 20-somethings are set on finding their way in an area with one of England’s oldest populations Share your experiences of living in a coastal town Photographs by Polly Braden The village where 22-year-old Millicent has lived all her whole life is often her most closely guarded secret – at least until first impressions have been established. “It’s almost like a superpower,” she says. “I wait until people are comfortable with me, and then I’ll do the big reveal.” It doesn’t matter where she goes, the story is always the same. “I’ll go to meet new friends and at some point I’ll tell them I’m from Jaywick,” says Millicent. “And it’s as if they go through the five stages of grief. They’ll say: ‘Oh, you’re not … oh, I’m so sorry’.” Kyle, Matt and Finn at Jaywick’s Martello Tower, now an arts site Continue reading...

High levels of lead detected in the water at Perth Children's Hospital do not pose a risk to patient safety, health authorities say.

In Rhode Island, a small team of researchers and volunteers is fighting, against the odds, to stop one of the most endangered US birds from drowning in ever higher tides • Photographs by Jason Jaacks Knee-deep in water, the young man lifts his arms. His wrists are grabbed, next his ankles, then he feels himself flying through the air, nearly horizontal, before plunging into New England’s pungent tidal waters. Grinning and still dripping, he receives a homemade certificate documenting his induction into the Needle in a Haystack Society. Continue reading...

Underwater curtains and ice thickening divert attention from cutting fossil fuel use, warns climate research group Proposals to fight the impact of the climate crisis at the poles, from giant underwater curtains to scattering glass beads across the ice, have been dismissed by a group of scientists as an “unimaginably expensive” and “dangerous” distraction. Geoengineering, which includes blocking sunlight with airborne particles and thickening ice with pumped seawater, has become highly divisive among scientists. Its proponents argue that, with cuts in carbon emissions going far too slowly, exploring options for “emergency brakes” would be valuable. Continue reading...

Proposed "geoengineering" projects designed to reduce the impacts of global warming in polar regions would be ineffective, extremely costly and environmentally dangerous, researchers have warned.

An 18-year-old is in a serious but stable condition after being run over at a rodeo in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Viral footage of a US social media star handling a deadly saltwater crocodile in Far North Queensland has sparked calls to deport misbehaving influencers.

The Australian Border Force is launching a reporting function on a popular fishing app, but stakeholders in the far north say the technology means little without more boots on the ground.

SA Health says people should avoid discoloured foam but not avoid the beach because of the benefits to mental and physical health Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast South Australians living with asthma or other types of respiratory illness have been warned of a “potential risk” posed by a toxic algal bloom dominating the state’s coastline at a Senate committee inquiry into the natural disaster. The Senate committee had its first public hearing on Tuesday, and heard there were now toxins in the bloom that could exacerbate asthma; that very little was known about the species in the bloom, and that even its cause was not fully understood. Continue reading...

Health authorities have told the opening public hearing of a Senate inquiry into South Australia's algal bloom they have escalated their health advice and are now recommending people with asthma carry their medication on the state's beaches when foam is present.

Sixteen households were evacuated in May when a landslip happened in the quiet suburb of New Lambton. After months of stress, residents still don't know when they will be able to return home.

Mercury Psillakis had earned a black belt in Taekwondo and travelled the world surfing, his family reveals in a statement.

The Bureau of Meteorology is making a major change to how they assess El Niño and La Niña, the world's most dominant drivers of weather variability.

Trials to remove shark nets from some NSW beaches have been suspended after the death of a surfer. But what impact do they actually have on shark attacks in the first place? Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The death of a surfer in a shark attack on one of Sydney’s northern beaches has reopened debate about the use of shark nets at Australian beaches. Mercury Psillakis, 57, was surfing at Long Reef on Saturday when he was attacked by a large shark just a week after the annual installation of shark nets across the NSW coast. Continue reading...

Strong winds uprooted trees, with branches and entire trunks landing on cars and roads when a storm hit Alice Springs.

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has accused the state government of cancelling renewable energy projects, "listening to local opponents", and "ignoring local supporters".

University of Sydney research shows 60 per cent of those living with a disability don't have any sort of emergency plan.

Nuno had led Forest to historic European qualification Head coach recently admitted tensions with owner Nottingham Forest have parted company with their head coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, after a year and eight months, with Ange Postecoglou strongly linked to the vacant position. Nuno’s departure just three games into the season comes after the emergence of tensions with the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, over the past fortnight. “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espírito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach,” said a club statement in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

The most crucial rule of South Gippsland's annual Gumboot Gift running race is "authentic" gumboots only, no fancy slimline or ankle-height boots are allowed.

AI-enabled sentry hives will soon line the main route to Western Australia from South Australia, using cameras and 4G to detect varroa mite.

A problematic oyster species that can grow up to 24 centimetres long is spreading through Queensland, with the potential to invade much of the nation's coastline.

Nearly 2,000 people visit the Riverland town of Berri for the region's first Punjabi sport and culture festival, which organisers hope to make a major event.

Researchers studying the phenomenon found in 2024 there were between 14 to 17 coyotes on Angel island For nearly a decade, Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay has been home to what the state parks describes as a “budding population” of coyotes. Late last month park workers got a fascinating glimpse at the animal’s journey to the island. Angel Island staffers traveling by boat saw a coyote swimming along Raccoon Strait, and filmed it paddling across the deep waterway between the island and mainland Marin county. The coyote was about a quarter mile from shore and safely returned to the island, the park posted online. Continue reading...

From retired teachers to builders and ringers, these seniors are fixing fences and homes, and restoring hope, in the outback.

With Erin Patterson's 33-year sentence handed down, the Gippsland community hopes to get back to normal.

Fifteen years after it was first earmarked for "pedestrian infrastructure", a 1 kilometre-long road in Darwin's north remains dangerously underdeveloped, according to residents and local politicians.

The timber industry says, despite years of consultation, it has been ignored after 176,000 hectares of NSW state forest was ruled off-limits to loggers.

South Australia's Limestone Coast is home to lush terrain in Australia's driest state, but its groundwater supplies are slowly in decline.

Shark nets were installed last week along the Northern Beaches, including at a nearby beach where a Sydney surfer was killed in an attack.

Images of these frightened cats rescued by concerned citizens have struck a deep chord in cat-obsessed Indonesia.

BHP has dumped plans for major renewable energy projects in the Pilbara, prompting concern the miner is backing away from emissions reduction goals.

"No-go" zones where development will "simply not be allowed" will be created in the overhaul of Australia's environment laws, minister Murray Watt says. And to speed up the development process, areas will also be created where individual assessments and approvals will not be required.

An estimated 129bn were being used every month around the world at height of pandemic, with no recycling stream The surge in the use of disposable face masks during the Covid pandemic has left a chemical timebomb that could harm humans, animals and the environment, research suggests. Billions of tonnes of plastic face masks created to protect people from the spread of the virus are now breaking down, releasing microplastics and chemical additives including endocrine disruptors, the research found. Continue reading...

From Covid misinformation to climate denialism, understanding the divergent paths of Australia and the US can help us fight the powerful forces that threaten our world As two scientists who lived through Australia’s black summer bushfires and the Covid-19 crisis in the United States, we have seen firsthand how science in modern societies is under siege from an even more insidious “antiscience virus” of weaponised disinformation that undermines our ability to confront these crises. There are five primary, interconnected forces behind the assault on science and reason. We call them the “five Ps”: the plutocrats, the petrostates, the pros (eg paid promoters of anti-science), the propagandists and – with important exceptions – the media. Together they have generated a perfect storm of antiscientific disinformation that now threatens humanity. Continue reading...

Concerns abandoned coal boreholes in Queensland and NSW could be emitting ‘equivalent of 65m cars’ worth of methane Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Conservationists have called for an audit of potentially thousands of methane-leaking coal boreholes in Queensland, as one expert says New South Wales also has an unknown number of potentially leaking holes. Research revealed last week that two abandoned exploratory coal boreholeswere leaking methane at a rate comparable to 10,000 vehicles. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

People suspected teenagers playing ding dong ditch and called police, who found animal crawling on the door panel Inhabitants of an apartment block in Bavaria, southern Germany, who called police to investigate the relentless buzzing of their doorbells late at night were surprised to find the culprit was not a teenage prankster as they had suspected, but a slug. The slug had been sliding up and down the bell plate, creating havoc in the building and tearing angry residents out of their beds long after midnight when they could not sleep for the noise. Continue reading...

Erroneously putting map of Sunderland on medals for Tyneside event is latest in long line of cartological mishaps ‘Newcastle map’ medals actually show Sunderland The organisers of the Great North Run have apologised for using a map of Sunderland, rather than Newcastle, on this year’s finisher medals, but this was just one in a long line of map mistakes. Other blunders have included phantom supermarkets, dangerously misleading mountaineering routes and geopolitical blunders. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts decry lack of nationally determined contributions in negotiating document with weeks to go before UN-set deadline EU member states are still wrangling over crucial commitments on the climate crisis with no sign of agreement, according to a leaked draft text seen by the Guardian. With just weeks to go before a UN-set deadline, the European Commission and key member states remain at loggerheads over targets on greenhouse gas emissions, with the prospect of a strong outcome looking increasingly imperilled. Continue reading...

We are used to skimming the surface of our emotions, distracting ourselves with endless doing. To discover what we really need, we must move beyond the shallows Ever since I discovered the mating dynamics of the deep-sea anglerfish, where the male fuses with the female, and how closely this mirrors some disturbing human relationship patterns, I have been chewing over the idea that everything that exists in our unconscious also exists in the ocean. From the methodical violence of sharks, to dolphins who mourn their dead and jellyfish whose pulsating contractions remind me of my labour, the only phenomenon on Earth that is as rich and colourful and dark and fascinating as the deep sea is the deep unconscious. My problem, as I realised in a session not long ago with my psychoanalyst, is that I have been swimming in shallow waters. This is something I have seen many times in myself, and perhaps these moments of recognition help me to see it in my patients – the unconscious pull to stay in the emotional shallows, not to delve deeper into your own internal experience and understand the more profound wishes and hungers that drive us. Instead, we scroll away our difficult feelings, staring at whatever screen is in front of us rather than looking inwards. We cheapen our relationships with others, craving and offering a particular kind of emotional stroking that keeps things at surface level. We buy things, we watch things, we listen to things, we squeeze things, we try things on and send things back, and we do, do, do – we do to stay in the shallows, so we don’t have to be in the depths. Continue reading...

New legislation aimed at fast-tracking priority energy and defence projects in Western Australia could put the environment at risk and lead to less transparent government, experts say.

A white shark has been recorded off Manly Beach 48 hours after a surfer was attacked and killed at a neighbouring beach.

The only other option was to go back in time and do something about climate change but time travel hasn’t been invented yet Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

A long-time winemaker says he opened his door to explosions and a black ball of smoke as a fire caused by a cordless screwdriver destroyed a lifetime collection of tools and machinery.

Data shows in the first six months of this year, four dolphins died from becoming entangled in salmon farm enclosures in Tasmania's southern waters.

Labor’s koala strategy doesn’t go far enough, Coalition says, but environmentalists hail park a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ decision Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The long-awaited great koala national park in the north of New South Wales, celebrated by wildlife groups, has drawn a mixed reaction from the state’s Coalition. The opposition leader, Mark Speakman has hedged his party’s support, saying while he “supports the ambition of protecting koalas”, he was concerned about job losses and the cost of the park. Continue reading...

Trees were planted almost 100 years ago at the entrance to a tiny New South Wales town to recognise locals who served in WWI, but residents say a proposed wind farm could "butcher" the living memorial.

Growing up in South Australia's Riverland, Jake Stoeckel never imagined one day he would be playing college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes in the United States.

As more Perth councils bring in a third bin for food and organic waste, some of the early adopters of the system in WA's South West are just months away from potentially scrapping the system.

We’re beyond Mel Gibson’s Mad Max era. We no longer need oil to make it through the apocalypse As I write these words, the No 1 trending story on the Guardian is titled: “The history and future of societal collapse”. It is an account of a study by a Cambridge expert who works at something ominously called the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk; he concludes that “we can’t put a date on Doomsday, but by looking at the 5,000 years of [civilisation], we can understand the trajectories we face today – and self-termination is most likely”. I can’t claim to have done a study, though I have been at work on climate change for almost 40 years and I gotta say: seems about right. So it’s maybe not the worst moment for a bit of worry about how you would fare in the case of a temporary breakdown of our civilization. Perhaps you have noticed that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and violent. Or you read the stories that Donald Trump was shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency and surmised you’ll have to take care of yourself going forward. Or hey, maybe you think a cabal of pedophiles might try and use black helicopters to herd you into a 15-minute city where a communist mayor will make you spend the rest of your life riding a scary subway. Continue reading...

The nation's drought supports will come under scrutiny at a major national forum today as southern farmers continue to battle dry times.

The city of Canberra may only be 112 years old, but it has many things worth preserving, like a brick skate park in the south, and pine trees and 1960s flats in the north. But there can be hurdles to recognising and preserving heritage as the city grows.

There are 51 shark nets at beaches in NSW, stretching from Newcastle to Wollongong. But some councils want them taken down Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A deadly shark attack at Long Reef beach on Sydney’s northern beaches has reignited debate about New South Wales’ shark safety program. Mercury Psillakis, 57, was surfing at Long Reef on Saturday when he was attacked by what was described as a large shark. Continue reading...

Samuel McLennan spent two years salvaging for his ocean-going vessel and has slowly made his way to Victoria. Otis Filley jumps aboard for part of the journey Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter Word spread through French Island’s WhatsApp group before we’d even docked – there was a boat made of rubbish heading their way. By the time Samuel McLennan secured his vessel built from marine debris at Tankerton Jetty, a small crowd had formed. Alan Pentland, editor of Off-the-Grid, the island’s newsletter, was already waiting to get a photo and eager for a story. A constant stream of people came down over the next two hours – to have a chat, come onboard, ask questions and share their excitement. French Island residents gather to inspect the unusual vessel after word spread through the island’s WhatsApp group about the arrival of a boat made of rubbish. Continue reading...

Despite the koala's status as an endangered species, 2025 has been the worst year on record for federal approval of the destruction of koala habitat.

<p>These wildfires tend to burn in more remote areas and grow larger faster, posing a higher risk to public safety and health</p><p>The climate crisis will continue making lightning-sparked wildfires more frequent for decades to come, which could produce cascading effects and worsen public safety and public health, experts and new research suggest.</p><p>Lightning-caused fires tend to burn in more remote areas and therefore usually grow into larger fires than human-caused fires. That means a trend toward more lightning-caused fires is also probably making wildfires more deadly by producing more wildfire smoke and helping to drive <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/19/wildfire-smoke-far-more-dangerous-than-thought-say-scientists">a surge in air quality issues</a> from coast to coast, <a href="https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/8187/">especially over the past several years</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/06/climate-crisis-lightning-sparked-wildfires-increase">Continue reading...</a>

<p>As the hit thriller returns to our screens, its creator talks about false starts, surprise inspirations – and why he never looks inside Jackson Lamb’s head</p><p>It is hard to imagine anyone less like the slovenly, has-been MI5 agent Jackson Lamb than his creator, Mick Herron. “He must come deep out of my subconscious,” the 62-year-old thriller writer jokes, sipping mineral water at a rooftop bar in his home city of Oxford, a world away from London’s Aldersgate where his bestselling Slough House series is set. In a “blue shirt, white tee” (fans will get the reference), he is softly spoken with a hint of a Geordie accent. Herron is often described as the heir to John le Carré and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/05/is-mick-herron-the-best-spy-novelist-of-his-generation">“the best spy novelist of his generation”</a>, according to the New Yorker. Unlike le Carré, he’s not, and never has been, a spy. Mysteriously, though, Wikipedia has given him “an entirely fictitious” birthday. “I got cards. I got a cake,” he says.</p><p>For the uninitiated, the novels and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/ive-only-just-hitched-my-wagon-to-slow-horses-but-im-loving-the-ride">award-winning TV series</a> follow a bunch of misfit spooks exiled to Slough House from MI5 for various mishaps and misdemeanours, so far away from the shiny HQ in Regent’s Park that it may as well be in Slough. The joke is that these hapless underdogs (nicknamed “slow horses”), under the grubby reins of Lamb, always triumph over the slicker agents and “the Dogs” at the&nbsp;Park.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/06/slow-horses-author-mick-herron-i-love-doing-things-that-are-against-the-rules">Continue reading...</a>

<p>Beaches from Manly to Narrabeen closed after death of 57-year-old who leaves behind wife and child</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>A man has died near Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches after being bitten by what is believed to be a large shark, in what police have called “a great tragedy”.</p><p>Shortly after 10am on Saturday, New South Wales emergency services were called to Long Reef beach following reports a man had suffered critical injuries.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/06/fatal-shark-attack-long-reef-beach-sydney-northern-beaches-nsw">Continue reading...</a>

A fatal shark attack on Sydney's Northern Beaches has come amid debates about the efficacy and environmental effects of shark nets. So do they actually protect swimmers, and what are the alternatives?

<p>Technology installed in Spencer Gulf as tens of thousands of cuttlefish gather to breed in unique global event</p><ul><li><p><strong>Get our </strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl"><strong>breaking news email</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3"><strong>free app</strong></a><strong> or </strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl"><strong>daily news podcast</strong></a></p></li></ul><p>A safety curtain of air bubbles has been installed in South Australia’s Spencer Gulf in an emergency bid to protect giant cuttlefish from the risk of a “near-extinction event” caused by the deadly algal bloom.</p><p>Each year, in a globally unique natural phenomenon, tens of thousands of giant Australian cuttlefish gather off the coast of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/31/fears-for-south-australias-annual-cuttlefish-gathering-amid-deadly-algal-bloom">Whyalla to breed</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/06/experimental-bubble-shield-deployed-to-protect-giant-cuttlefish-as-deadly-sa-algal-bloom-creeps-nearer">Continue reading...</a>

Queensland's environment department says it is investigating a video which appears to show an influencer attempting to catch a freshwater crocodile.

Business owners affected by a fire which gutted a shopping centre in Perth's north-east are calling for state government support as they begin the recovery process.

Several major rivers flowing across the border from Myanmar to Thailand have been contaminated with dangerously high levels of arsenic, threatening to cause a public health crisis.

A near-fatal bite was not enough to stop Queenslander Kasey Leadbetter from loving snakes but she says treatment could be improved, and researchers agree.

Years of hard work have led to Zai Calliste's upcoming debut performance with one of the world's elite dance companies. 

A 57-year-old man has died after being attacked by what police are describing as a large shark on Sydney's Northern Beaches on Saturday morning.

<p>Since the catastrophic floods of 2022, just 41 homes in the northern rivers have been raised, retrofitted or relocated. Far more have been bought back – and those living in them have been told to leave</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>One August morning, Chels Hood Withey woke to sheriffs banging on the door.</p><p>The housing advocate had been squatting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/13/we-are-in-a-housing-crisis-lismore-residents-accuse-nsw-government-of-demolishing-homes-that-should-be-relocated">in an empty house</a> in Mullumbimby, in Byron shire, after they became homeless in January.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/06/northen-rivers-buyback-homes-squatters-homeless-evicted-empty-houses">Continue reading...</a>

<p>Over a decade Koren Helbig has come up with some simple habits to reduce food waste at her place. Here are some ideas that may work at yours, too</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/change-by-degrees">Change by degrees</a> offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint</p></li><li><p>Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></p></li></ul><p>We’ve all been there – reaching into the fridge to find a forgotten cucumber shrivelled beyond recognition, or a half-eaten bag of baby spinach quietly collapsing into sludge.</p><p>Australian households throw out almost 2.5m tonnes of food every year – or the equivalent of 7.7m meals a day.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/06/food-waste-tips-scale-daunting-solution-in-our-own-home">Continue reading...</a>

Early Fault Detection technology has been trialled in several Australian states but a national rollout is a long way off. 

An outback event is helping athletes from the bush chase their dreams of competing for Australia at the Brisbane 2032 Games.

As the government is set to announce Australia's 2035 emissions goal, the Business Council of Australia warns an ambitious goal could carry a $500 billion price tag. The Coalition says the figure represents a warning of soaring costs but others say it's an investment opportunity.

<p>It has been the talk of Somerville, Massachusetts this summer, with the winner announced later today. Will it be the candidate who promises free kibble or the one who speaks gnomically of ‘CRIME’?</p><p>In Somerville, Massachusetts, a community bike path has, in recent months, become a hotly contested political constituency. A cat with a distinctive black smudge on her nose, Berry, had been sighted on the path by a number of concerned neighbours, who reported her missing. But she wasn’t actually anywhere she shouldn’t have been – Berry is an outdoor cat who lives in the area – so her family put up a poster dubbing her the bike path’s “mayor” to let neighbours know not to worry. It wasn’t long though before things got out of hand. How come Berry got to be mayor, asked other pet owners?</p><p>A heated election is now under way. There have been dirty tactics (at one point, Berry’s campaign sign was stolen), scandal (candidates were outraged when a local vet claimed to be “sponsoring” the race), and even death: Pirate, the candidate whose family took it upon themselves to set up the online ballot, died unexpectedly, mid-race. Voting (for Somerville locals only) ends on 5 September – and with 73 pets currently in the running, there’s plenty of choice. So who are the runners and riders?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/05/the-cat-mayoral-race-meet-11-runners-and-riders-in-the-uss-most-furious-and-furriest-election">Continue reading...</a>

Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia have placed restrictions on the importation of unprocessed Tasmanian potatoes, following the island state's outbreak of mop-top virus.

The newly released footage from 2018 shows now-barred trainer Darren Weir applying the "jigger" to a horse on a treadmill.

The West Australian government announces a new marine park to safeguard an enormous stretch of coastline adjacent to Ningaloo Reef.

<p>The hole – about 100 metres deep – was not visible from the surface – and there could be thousands more like it</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/sep/03/australia-politics-live-labor-coalition-greens-anthony-albanese-sussan-ley-question-time-nauru-immigration-asylum-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>A study of one abandoned coal exploration borehole in a Queensland paddock has found it was leaking the same amount of greenhouse gases in a year as about 10,000 cars – and there could be thousands more just like it.</p><p>Scientists at the University of Queensland also monitored a second coal exploration bore that was emitting about the same amount of methane and was forcing groundwater several metres into the air like a geyser.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/03/abandoned-queensland-coal-borehole-found-to-be-emitting-10000-cars-worth-of-greenhouse-gas">Continue reading...</a>

A global weather monitoring agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has predicted that La Niña conditions, characterized by cooler-than-average ocean temperatures in the central Pacific, may return in the spring. This comes as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a wetter-than-usual spring for the country, with significant rainfall expected across various regions. The anticipated La Niña event could potentially influence local weather patterns, leading to increased precipitation and associated effects on agriculture and water resources. Changes section: No changes required. - response: Summary: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has indicated the possibility of La Niña conditions returning during the upcoming spring, which is expected to coincide with a wetter-than-normal spring season forecasted by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. This phenomenon, marked by cooler-than-average Pacific Ocean temperatures, may impact regional weather, agriculture, and water supply. Changes section: No changes required.