Australia

Over AUS$31 million of illegal tobacco has been seized and destroyed after it was grown in fields in regional Victoria; raids at two properties near the border with New South Wales were carried out after an anonymous tip-off, uncovering the illicit haul

Psychiatrist Michael Dudley of UNSW and Professor Louise Newman of Monash University argue that a Royal Commission on Immigrant Detention Policy is needed, investigating the costs and human rights impact of this policy, as well as increasing transparency

The country risks being placed on a human rights blacklist for failing to comply with prison monitoring obligations under a UN anti-torture treaty

One of Australia's most prominent politicians, New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet, has admitted to wearing a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party and has apologised, calling it a terrible mistake, made when he was young and naive

Record rains are provoking floods in Kimberly and Canberra, while Fitzroy River flows breaks the records of 2022; evacuation operations are being performed from homes, hospitals and public buildings, with incessant use of helicopters

A leading supermarket chain has pulled a popular cheese product from its shelves and urged anyone who has bought it not to eat it after quality testing revealed microbial contamination of E.Coli in small batches of the product

About half a million bottles of champaign are expected to be sold at Coles liquor stores this month while smaller stores warn about a possible champaign shortage

The country argues against the UN putting the Great Barrier Reef on ‘endangered’ status; in July 2021 the UN proposal did not pass

Australia's digital advertising industry contributes a total economic value of $94 billion to GDP and supports more than 450.000 jobs, according to analysis by PwC, commissioned by IAB Australia

Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre has announced that its latest supercomputer, Setonix, has been recognised as one of the world's greenest supercomputers, ranking in the top five on the Green500 list

Aged Care workers will get a pay rise of at least 15%, by decision of the industrial umpire; unions had asked for a 25% rise and a wage increase was recommended in 2021 by Royal Commission, which exposed major problems in the sector, including overwork

Although Australia has not yet acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the change in its voting position to 'abstention' after five years of 'no' votes is seen by activists as a sign of progress