User Articles

Super funds hit in hack attack

Superannuation funds are urgently contacting members whose accounts have been targeted by hackers, as many frantically struggle to check their balances. Cybersecurity experts are calling for greater safeguards, but warn against widespread panic after reports half a million dollars had been stolen in the hack. Hundreds of Australians had their superannuation targeted, with funds managing more than $1 trillion in assets facing a co-ordinated online attack using stolen passwords.

AAP Newswire

Environment

Beaches much cleaner as litterbugs get the message

Fewer plastic wrappers and bottle tops are turning up on Australian beaches, with coastal litter down by more than one-third in a decade. A 16 per cent jump in areas completely free from plastic waste has also been recorded by the national science agency. The CSIRO study surveyed inland, riverine and coastal habitats across six urban regions, recording lower levels of plastic pollution in Newcastle, Perth and the Sunshine Coast. Hobart and Port Augusta recorded more litter than before, however.

AAP Newswire

Cost of living

13 hours ago

Trade war may spur rate relief

US tariffs have wreaked havoc on financial markets but could force the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver more mortgage relief sooner. ANZ Bank – until recently the most hawkish of the big four banks – has upped its interest rate cut predictions due to the carnage US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are expected to inflict on the global economy.

AAP Newswire

13 hours ago

Election

14 hours ago

Cost-of-living concerns fuel Dutton’s campaign

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is seizing on stifled aspiration and choked housing supply in outer suburbs to spruik his cornerstone policies. Speaking at a future of western Sydney forum at Blacktown, Dutton’s one-word answers during a word association exercise summed up his electoral strategy. Housing was unaffordable, aspiration was dashed and western Sydney was a powerhouse.

AAP Newswire

14 hours ago

Security

16 hours ago

Footy fans face tighter security after MCG gun find

AFL fans can expect delays getting into the sport’s premier venue due to ramped-up security after two men were allegedly caught with firearms at a packed match in a major breach. Officials blamed Thursday night’s incident at the MCG on a “breakdown” in screening measures, while the AFL promised a security review after what the players’ union labelled as an unacceptable incident.

AAP Newswire

16 hours ago

Poll

22 hours ago

Dutton’s approval rating dropping

Peter Dutton’s approval rating among voters has plunged to its worst level since becoming opposition leader, polling shows. The first YouGov poll since the federal election was called for May 3 shows Mr Dutton’s satisfaction rating plummeting to minus 15. His net satisfaction among voters slumped by 10 points in the two weeks since the last YouGov poll was released on March 21.

AAP Newswire

22 hours ago

Election

Tariffs hand PM, Dutton chance to ‘show strength’

Donald Trump’s trade war offers Australia’s leaders a chance to show strength and reinvigorate their federal election campaigns. Australia has been slapped with a 10 per cent tariff on goods sent to America after the US president revealed a suite of measures against his nation’s trading partners. While there are exemptions for certain industries, the decision has fuelled anxiety and created an opening for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to prove their worth as they try to win over voters.

AAP Newswire

Pacific

Fiji among big losers under Trump tariffs

Fiji – and American lovers of high-end bottled water Fiji Water – stand as the big losers of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff play in the Pacific. In the blue continent, some of the world’s poorest economies are reeling after...

AAP Newswire

Election

Albo takes a tumble while on the hustings

Anthony Albanese’s carefully managed election campaign has briefly unravelled as the Australian prime minister took a tumble on stage. Albanese had just finished addressing a union conference when he fell while trying to take a group photo.

AAP Newswire

Weather

Flood impact ‘will be massive’

Flooding the size of NSW has impacted western Queensland, with water levels exceeding records set more than 50 years ago in some areas. Homes have been inundated, communities evacuated and fences destroyed across the region, triggering fears of significant livestock losses.

AAP Newswire

Transport

Human error blamed for driverless train’s door glitch

Authorities insist a new rail system is safe after Sydney commuters were stranded on a busy driverless train when a carriage door was left open between stations. ”The staff who noticed the door was becoming ajar acted very quickly,“ Sydney Metro chief Peter Regan said. The train was travelling through the city’s north from Chatswood to Crows Nest about 8am during Wednesday’s peak.

AAP Newswire

USA

Tariffs have ‘no basis in logic’

Australia will bolster its industries and take its export business elsewhere, as the prime minister slammed a new round of blanket US tariffs as “totally unwarranted”. President Donald Trump singled out Australian beef in a long list of complaints about America’s trading partners, ahead of announcing 10 per cent tariffs on all Australian goods sent to the US. This and other global levies will take effect from midnight US time after he laid out his “Liberation Day” plan at the White House.

AAP Newswire

Disaster

Flood victims rescued by helicopter

Climbing onto the roof was daunting for Stephen Cowley’s kids as floodwaters rose. They really started to panic when a helicopter landed on their house to whisk the children away from the inundated southwest Queensland property. ”I had to push the two daughters and granddaughter up on the roof, they got the first chopper,“ Cowley told AAP.

AAP Newswire

Court

Asylum seekers lose court challenge

Two asylum seekers have lost their bid to broaden the scope of an incendiary High Court ruling that led to the release of 150 immigration detainees. The asylum seekers - from Poland and Vietnam - sought damages after claiming it was illegal for immigration authorities to detain them while their applications for protection visas were being processed. Both men were taken into detention after they served prison sentences for drug offences committed in Australia.

AAP Newswire

Weather

Giant waves close popular beaches

Huge waves have smashed Australia’s east coast as several beaches remain closed, with pavements pounded and businesses cleaning up damage from the wild weather. Sydney beaches Bondi, Bronte, Clovelly and Cronulla were among the areas on the east coast smashed by huge swells on Wednesday and are closed. Bondi Icebergs pool sustained significant damage with shattered glass and a mangled railing after it was pounded with a 5.5m swell.

AAP Newswire

Trade

Australia ‘realistic’ about US tariffs

Australia is prepared for the impact of looming tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, the prime minister says, while insisting he’s best placed to deal with the US president. Trump will unveil the latest round of tariffs on Thursday morning, Australian time, and his so-called “Liberation Day” is threatening to up-end the federal election campaign.

AAP Newswire

Police

Top cop declines full-time job

One of Australia’s biggest police forces will get its third top cop this year after Victoria’s acting boss revealed he is not gunning to stay in the role. Victoria Police Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent will not apply for the five-year term in the permanent position, citing the “always on, never off” demands of the job.

AAP Newswire

Election

Multiple fronts open in battleground state

Anthony Albanese has begun the effort to sandbag seats in Victoria, as Labor tries to boost support through a cost-of-living announcement. The prime minister landed in the key battleground state with more than a dozen of Victoria’s 38 seats under...

AAP Newswire