Australia coal sector braces as Albanese tackles carbon demons

Newcastle, the world's biggest coal export hub once known as Australia's "steel city," is a growing gem of a metropolis on Australia's eastern coast. Its million-dollar ocean views come with a sprinkle of the 4,400 ships that deliver millions of tons of the black stuff to customers across the globe every year. The port's operator, however, believes the future is green and does not want to be left behind.

One nation or 8? COVID fuels Australian power shift toward states

Australian states' tough internal border policies to fight COVID-19 have, at times, arguably split the nation into multiple mini-countries. They have blocked a fully vaccinated Sydney woman from visiting her cancer-ridden daughter in the state of Victoria. They stopped a New South Wales baby from entering Queensland for a crucial brain scan. Starting Monday, Australians will be able to fly to places like London and Singapore as international travel gradually resumes, but east coast residents still cannot enter their own westernmost state even on compassionate grounds.

Report reveals sexual assaults and harassment inside Victoria Police

EXCLUSIVE: More than 600 Victoria Police employees who were sexually assaulted or harassed in the workplace have accessed a scheme that has paid out $11 million in redress payments. The Saturday Herald Sun can reveal the Restorative Engagement and Redress Scheme, which was launched in December 2019, has supported hundreds of former and current Victoria Police employees with counselling, case management and compensation.

China-Australia clash: How it started and how it's going

After a year of steadily worsening relations with China, it was a tweet that seemed to really get under Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's skin. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian earlier this month posted a doctored image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, trolling Canberra over alleged war crimes by its soldiers. Morrison called the tweet "repugnant" and demanded an apology. One has not been forthcoming.

'Dangerous period' ahead for US and China, Australia's Rudd warns

EXCLUSIVE: Australia's former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is sounding the alarm about U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, warning a full-blown crisis is an all too real possibility -- especially during a potentially rocky period following Tuesday's American presidential election. Friction between the two superpowers continued to escalate this week after the U.S. approved a $2.37 billion missile sale to Taiwan. Rudd, in an interview with Nikkei Asia, said he is hopeful that "calmer heads will prevail" but remains wary of Washington's and Beijing's tit-for-tat moves.

Australians fret over cuts to JobKeeper and JobSeeker COVID aid

David Bell, jobless with a wife and two teenagers, was just scraping by on government aid and assistance from a local food bank before the coronavirus hit Australia. But a major expansion in benefits to help citizens cope with the pandemic's blow to the economy has proven a godsend for the 59-year old former police liaison officer, who volunteers at several charities in Sydney and has found his age an impediment to re-entering the workforce.