News

Bill Shorten has announced he will support Kevin Rudd in tonight's leadership ballot to give the Labor Party "the best possible chance" in the federal election.

Labor MPs will vote in a ballot for the Labor leadership at 7.00pm AEST (10am UK time) for either Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd to be prime minister. As the vote comes to a head, we look back at a timeline of Labor leadership thrills, spills and challenges.

Kevin Rudd says he will challenge Julia Gillard for the leadership of the Labor Party at a special caucus meeting at 7pm (10am UK time).

Senior members of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office have claimed that the embattled Labor leader would defy convention and refuse to vacate her position in the event of a leadership challenge, forcing MPs to reveal their loyalties in order to force a spill.

The South Australian Supreme Court has ruled in favour of an Adelaide man seeking to be recognised as the spouse of his deceased gay partner in what has been hailed as a landmark victory for advocates of same-sex marriage.

The Australian Electoral Commission has introduced an online enrolment service in partnership with Facebook that is designed to increase youth participation and engagement in the electoral process ahead of September’s federal election.

A potential third tilt at the Labor leadership for axed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appears to have lost momentum, with suggestions that Mr Rudd’s plan to persuade senior government ministers to support his challenge has failed.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has caused a media frenzy of both criticism and support after posing for Australian Women’s Weekly whilst knitting a toy kangaroo for the Royal baby.

Zinzan Brooke, Lewis Moody and Geordan Murphy are amongst some of the international rugby stars attending a gala dinner on 11 July in London to support an Australian quadriplegic and raise awareness of spinal injuries.

Hazel Hawke has been farewelled at Sydney’s Opera House with a musical tribute.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has given her colleagues a lukewarm assessment of Labor's chances of retaining government at the final caucus meeting before the 14 September election.

This week we bring you a special Monarchy vs Republic feature, with opinion pieces offered from both sides of the debate. Brant Rippon of the Australian Monarchist League examines the nature of the modern monarchy in Australia.

This week we bring you a special Monarchy vs Republic feature, with opinion pieces offered from both sides of the debate. Simon Rowell, Marielle Smith and Cal Viney, Co-Chairs of the London Steering Committee on Being Australia(n), discuss the need to re-examine questions of Australian identity and redefine ‘brand’ Australia.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange today claimed that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had contacted the Assange legal team and that he was “healthy and safe” despite not showing up for the flight that he was expected to take to Cuba earlier today.

Senior government sources have reported that Climate Change Minister Greg Combet told former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd eighteen months ago that he would support a change in leadership if he were to become Federal Treasurer as a part of the deal.

The monthly Kiwis in London social event has become a cornerstone event for New Zealanders living in London. This month they have invited their Australian friends along for a night of drinking, music and good times.

View the digital edition of this week’s FREE Australian Times newspaper, available every Tuesday across London.

WikiLeaks says Edward Snowden, currently in Moscow after leaving Hong Kong on a commercial flight, is bound for Ecuador via a “safe route”.

As Julia Gillard marks three years as prime minister, Labor backbenchers say ministers are being unhelpful by attacking Kevin Rudd.

Trenton Oldfield, the Australian activist who was jailed for disrupting the 2012 Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race, has been ordered to leave the country after his application for a spousal visa was refused.

Although it’s almost a cliché to venture to warmer climates like Mallorca or Corfu for the summer, seeing what Britain's own back yard has to offer is also just as fun.

A man has been charged in London today after a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Australian artist Ralph Heimans was defaced at Westminster Abbey.

Legal action from 2DayFM in the Austereo group gags broadcasting watchdog from publishing findings of a six-month long inquiry into the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha.

A risqué advertisement for the British Lions Test series showing a kangaroo in a compromising position with a lion is causing controversy in Australia. The 'Rooting for the Wallabies' ad is visible from the sky on approach to Melbourne international airport.

The Australian Mint marks the Diamond Jubilee year of Queen Elizabeth II with a special new coloured coin.

Former PM John Howard isn’t sure Julian Assange has committed a crime, but rates him as “an attention seeker of the worst kind”.

Community leaders in Australia’s north have welcomed the coalition’s white paper proposal, but some remain sceptical.

Indigenous leaders have marked the sixth anniversary of the controversial 2007 government intervention in the Northern Territory by questioning the psychological repercussions of regulating the day-to-day management of Aboriginal communities.

Justice has been done with the life sentence handed to Adrian Ernest Bayley for the rape and murder of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher, her family says.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says the government’s crackdown on 457 visas is not a done deal in parliament.

Australian women respond to a Destroy The Joint Facebook call to action, #convoyofcleavage, after columnist Grace Collier criticises Prime Minister Julia Gillard for showing too much cleavage in parliament.

Former prime minister Bob Hawke has ruled out intervening to smooth tensions between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former leader Kevin Rudd.

Join in a unique conversation about Australian identity from the perspectives of Australians abroad with the Australian Republican Movement’s ‘Being Australia(n)’ Q&A event on Thursday 27 June.

The Western Australia’s European Office celebrated the founding day of Western Australia by hosting a WA wine tasting event at the Australian High Commission last week.

Recent polling suggests that Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s attempt to reignite a political gender war has backfired, with the embattled Labor leader losing significant support amongst male voters after claiming that Tony Abbott would marginalise women and change abortion rights if elected to government.

Rio Tinto has called on businesses to be more transparent about their tax affairs after the global miner paid almost $9 billion in taxes in Australia last year.

View the digital edition of this week’s FREE Australian Times newspaper, available every Tuesday across London.

The governor-general of Australia, Quentin Bryce, visited with the Queen, young Australian entrepreneurs in East London, and addressed an Australian Business networking lunch in a visit to the UK last week.

A leadership showdown between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her detractors could be put off until after Labor's landmark schools funding legislation passes federal parliament.

Australian Julian Assange continues to polarise opinion a year after he sought political asylum, as a recent story concerning his right to sunlight proves. Assange met with Ecuador foreign minister Ricardo Patino at the embassy this morning.

Sydney and the surrounding area have so much to offer. If you're planning a few weeks there, then you need to make sure you pack as much as possible in. Here's our guide to the best places to visit to help you make the most of your holiday.

Perth shock jock Howard Sattler will pursue legal action against Fairfax radio after he was sacked for asking prime minister Julia Gillard whether her partner is gay.

A recent report by Buddy Media: “Strategies for Effective Tweeting: A Statistical Review” is based on an analysis they did on user-engagement from more than 320 various brands' Twitter accounts.

TRAVEL WRITER ENTRY | It took a six hour journey on four buses, and a two hour trek 2000m above sea level, but a night spent with a welcoming Nepalese family in their simple mountain home is one experience LUKE TYBURSKI will never forget.

Western Australian shock jock Howard Sattler has been suspended from the airwaves after asking PM Julia Gillard if her partner is gay during an interview.

Ken Smith, Agent General for Queensland and Trade and Investment Commissioner, Europe, shares his experience of Queensland Day in London with Australian Times

Defence has launched a massive investigation into more than 100 army and other personnel over the distribution of offensive images of women.

Feminists fear a massive Labor defeat in September will set back their cause for up to a decade.

Australian workers doing plumbing repair work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge have walked off the job after they said two apprentices were exposed to asbestos.

Ozforex has signed an agreement with MoneyGram to power currency remittances made in Australia.