parliament politics social issue unions

Cost of living, union corruption in focus as MPs return

Labor wants to shift the focus to cost-of-living relief and social action as the coalition heaps pressure on its handling of inflation and national security.

breaking_news crime, law and justice politics social issue technology (general) telecommunication service

Urgent call to pass deepfake sexual image sharing laws

Laws that crack down on the creation and sharing of non-consensual sexual images, including digitally altered deepfakes, should pass with haste, senators say.

science and technology social issue telecommunication service

Telcos to proceed with 3G closure despite inquiry fears

Threats to safety from the 3G mobile network shutdown are "too great to ignore", an inquiry warns, but Telstra and Optus are pressing ahead with their plans.

addiction crime, law and justice drug trafficking politics social issue

Mood-altering drug use a ‘human right’: top prosecutor

Australia's longest-serving public prosecutor is pushing for a Portuguese-style cannabis model that decriminalises drugs and brings users before experts.

breaking_news disabled politics report social issue

‘Kick in the guts’: shock at disability report response

Almost a year after the Disability Royal Commission delivered its damning report, the government has released its response to a mixed reaction.

health indigenous people justice and rights social issue

‘Loud and clear’: elder reflects on lifetime of stories

South Australian elders are being celebrated in a new documentary, 'There I was, here I am', featuring the stories of three Aboriginal trailblazers.

politics social issue unrest, conflicts and war

PM under fire as Gaza protesters front Labor conference

Pro-Palestine protesters amassed outside the NSW Labor conference while, inside, the Prime Minister did his best to ignore the chants attacking him.

abusive behaviour crime, law and justice social issue

‘Not enough action’: pressure mounts as DV deaths spike

Political leaders are being accused of losing interest in finding urgent solutions to Australia's domestic violence crisis as the death toll climbs higher.

festive event (including carnival) health politics social issue

Schoolies pill testing as more young women take drugs

Australia's biggest Schoolies event will make pill testing available for the first time but an opposition party has vowed to scrap the plan if elected.

abusive behaviour breaking_news computing and information technology internet media regulatory policy and organisation social issue

Tech giants on notice over ‘blindness’ to abuse content

Tech companies treat child sexual abuse content with "wilful blindness" but the online safety watchdog will soon force them to face uncomfortable truths.

children crime, law and justice internet politics pornography social issue

Deepfake crackdown looms as ‘nudify’ apps in spotlight

The eSafety commissioner has called for more powers to tackle apps that enable image-based abuse by using artificial intelligence to undress or "nudify" women.

housing and urban planning politics social issue

Pre-fab homes built up as state fix for housing crisis

Chronically unaffordable property in NSW has prompted a trial of modular housing and calls to appoint a top bureaucrat to overcome planning obstacles.

children crime, law and justice police politics social issue

Warnings against ‘knee-jerk’ response to youth crime

The Victorian government must not let community fears of a crime crisis trigger backward steps on justice reforms, youth groups say.

inquiry media politics social issue technology (general)

Social media age limits ‘likely to make things worse’

Bringing in age restrictions for social media could make safety issues worse for young users, child protection organisations have told a parliamentary hearing.

children computing and information technology online parent and child politics (general) safety of citizens science and technology social issue social issues (general) social problems technology (general)

Photos of Aussie kids scraped, used by popular AI tool

Child safety advocates have called for greater online privacy protections after Human Rights Watch identified photos of young Australians in an AI dataset.

crime crime, law and justice police social issue transport accident

Girls arrested, boys flee after ‘cowardly’ fatal crash

Up to four males are on the run and two teenage girls are in custody after their allegedly stolen car crashed into another vehicle, killing the driver.

assault (general) health sex social issue

Lovers warned ‘common’ bedroom trend could be deadly

Fear of being labelled "vanilla" in the bedroom and ignorance of the danger are leading young people to consent to an intimate act posing genuine risk of harm.

computing and information technology inquiry internet media online people - social issue social issue social issues (general) social problems technology (general)

Would you show Facebook your ID? The govt wants to know

A $6.5 million age-assurance technology trial will test whether it can prevent teens accessing social networks and whether adults are willing to use it.

computing and information technology inquiry internet media online people - social issue social issue social issues (general) social problems technology (general)

Child abuse and online safety risks probed at inquiry

Lawmakers and experts in child protection policies are expected to appear at a federal social media inquiry following controversial claims by Meta.

abusive behaviour athletics, track and field social issue sport

Cross-continent run to raise domestic violence dollars

A woman who dribbled a soccer ball from the Gold Coast to Sydney has set her sights on an even bigger challenge to raise money for abuse survivors.

discrimination indigenous people parliament politics social issue

Push for Indigenous truth-telling amid voice ‘silence’

The Albanese government is being urged to make progress on Indigenous truth-telling with people left "hurting" following the voice referendum defeat.

economy, business and finance health labour politics social issue

Albanese links new energy plan to cost-of-living crisis

Cost-of-living support in the form of tax cuts and higher pay for minimum-wage workers are among changes to come into effect in the new financial year.

economy, business and finance inflation and deflation politics social issue

Tax cuts to help households ‘catch up’ to rate rises

After a long wait and much political tussling, the stage three tax cuts are finally about to come into effect - and not a moment too soon.

economy, business and finance health labour politics social issue

More hip-pocket help, less vaping in new financial year

Cost of living relief in the form of tax cuts and a pay increase for minimum-wage workers are among the changes to come into effect in the new financial year.

abusive behaviour politics social issue unrest, conflicts and war

MPs cautious as threats and abuse rise over war in Gaza

A rise in death threats, abuse and office attacks have parliamentarians and authorities on higher alert for danger as the Gaza war frays community cohesion.

abusive behaviour parliament political systems politics social issue unrest, conflicts and war

Payman might cross the floor again despite party rebuke

Labor senator Fatima Payman has been iced out of a partyroom meeting as punishment for crossing the floor but remains unapologetic about her actions.

consumers inquiry internet mass media media news media online social issue social issues (general)

Why Australian news could be banned from Facebook again

Banishing Australian news content from Facebook could devastate media outlets and disadvantage audiences, an inquiry into social media has heard.

economy, business and finance science and technology social issue

Aussies feel social media fails to stop ‘scam war’

One in five Australians believe social media giants are encouraging scams to occur on the platforms, a new survey reveals.

housing and urban planning politics social issue

Government lays foundation for social housing upswing

Billions of dollars in funding have been allocated to states and territories in Labor's plan to address shortfalls in social housing and homelessness services.

computing and information technology media online people - social issue politics politics (general) safety of citizens science and technology social issue social issues (general) technology (general)

Publisher warns of Meta ‘blackmail’ on news media code

Major news outlets accuse Facebook's parent company of daring the government to take action against it, and warn newspapers could close if it fails to act.

computing and information technology consumers internet online politics (general) science and technology social issue social issues (general) social problems technology (general)

Lies, bad ads, no rules – social media under scrutiny

Academics at six universities are teaming up to create a national body to investigate online misinformation, social media risks and missing regulations.