News

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison was left looking red-faced as a dozen journalists abandoned a press conference he’d called outside Canberra’s Parliament House to chase down Labor rival Joel Fitzgibbon.

Communications minister Stephen Conroy says he’ll be meeting with stakeholders in Canberra on Thursday to discuss the latest asbestos scare in communities living around the national broadband network (NBN) work sites.

The awarding of "Top Jock" to Australian DJ Michael Christian, one of the 2DayFM radio jocks embroiled in the UK royal prank call scandal during which nurse Jacintha Saldanha took her own life, has been labelled in "bad taste".

A United Nations treaty co-authored by Australia and designed to restrict the sale of illegal arms in the global marketplace has been signed by Junior Defence Minister Mike Kelly in New York City earlier this week.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague will meet his Ecuadorian counterpart Ricardo Patino on 17 June to discuss the future of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has rejected Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s accusation that Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop had “embarrassed the nation” by claiming that the Indonesian government supported the Coalition’s policy to turn back the boats of asylum seekers if elected later this year.

Queenslanders will each fork out an additional $181 as a result of the Newman Government’s second budget announcement yesterday, which is expected to earn the state an additional $1 billion in revenue over the next fiscal year.

Former cabinet minister Joel Fitzgibbon has openly ridiculed Labor HQ in the wake of opinion polls showing the government heading for a massive defeat, whilst backbencher Graham Perrett likened the situation ahead of the 14 September federal election to an Indiana Jones movie.

A former Sydney bishop says the Catholic Church needs to fundamentally change to address its abuse crisis.

One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has claimed that she understands the lifestyle of Australia’s “young ones” in a national radio interview that discusses the controversial politician signing up to Facebook in the lead-up to the upcoming federal election.

The boys from Stoke Travel are well versed in the art of the European party festival in Haro. Here, WADE GRAVY talks us through his favourite — the Batalla de Vino.

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

Pauline Hanson is making her seventh bid for parliament, lining up to run for the Senate as a One Nation candidate.

Senior Liberal Malcolm Turnbull has joined Treasurer Wayne Swan in renewing calls for Australia to think again about becoming a republic.

Mr Yunupingu, the former Yothu Yindi lead singer, has died aged 56 at his home in the Northern Territory.

Gruen Sweat, a four-part spin off from the original Gruen Transfer, has won a prestigious Rose d’Or award for Best Entertainment Show in Brussels.

A number of Australians are preparing to take part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in September, with London today announced as the host city for the start and finish of the 2013-14 race.

The Britain-Australia Society and the Western Australian European Office will host a WA wine tasting event at the Australian High Commission on Thursday 13 June to celebrate the founding day of Western Australia.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has welcomed the Irish government’s move to introduce laws for cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging.

Australian-owned company AussieMite have apologised for a new advertising campaign depicting a sacramental wafer being dipped into their yeast based spread during a Catholic mass.

The Australian High Commissioner to the UK, Mike Rann, laid a wreath yesterday in London to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. Mr Rann told attendees the Allied forces would have lost World War II had they had not achieved victory in the six year-long naval...

OPINION | In the wake of yet another racist incident in Australia involving Eddie McGuire and Adam Goodes, PAUL BLEAKLEY asks, is our jokey larrikinism masking a serious cultural problem of casual racism?

The AFL has backed Collingwood’s refusal to stand down president Eddie McGuire for his racial comment directed at Sydney player Adam Goodes.

Several weeks after having a sandwich thrown at her during a school visit in Queensland, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been forced to dodge more projectile food while announcing the Australian Capital Territory’s signing up to the Gonski education reforms at Canberra's Lyneham High School.

Why has the Reserve Bank moved interest rates to their lowest level in more than 50 years this month?

The Governor-General of Australia, Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, will lead an EABC economic mission to promote trade and investment between Australian and member states of the EU. The mission will be followed by a UK visit, during which the Governor-General will meet with The Queen, prominent Australians in the...

Foreign Minister Bob Carr won’t say whether Chinese hackers were behind a cyber attack targeting domestic spy agency ASIO.

Media personality Eddie McGuire has apologised to Sydney AFL player Adam Goodes for suggesting he should promote the King Kong musical.

Australia has been voted as the best country in the world to live and work for the third year running in the OECD Better Life Index.

Changes to the New South Wales Public Health Act will require parents to vaccinate their children or apply for an exemption before enrolling them in childcare facilities across the state.

An Australian traveller, Caleb Stalder, has claimed victory in the annual cheese-rolling race held in Gloucestershire, UK.

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

The head of global energy giant Shell says rising costs are a challenge for doing business in Australia.

Cardinal Pell apologises to inquiry for Catholic cover-up of child sex abuse and says church will pay compensation but not huge US sums.

Professor Kingsley Dixon’s contribution to research on native plants and the regeneration of ecosystems was recognised last night in London when he was awarded the Linnean Medal by the Linnean Society of London. The Australian biologist is currently working on a two year project on desert restoration for the Saudi...

Julia Gillard has agreed to a summit on the future of car making after Ford’s decision to stop manufacturing in Australia.

CHARLIE INGLEFIED avoids the crowds in the South of France by uncovering the secret delights of Uzès, nestled in the sparse valleys of the Gard region between Languedoc and Provence.

Hazel Hawke, the popular former wife of the Australian Labor Party’s longest serving Prime Minister Bob Hawke, has died today after a long battle with dementia.

The alleged terrorist attack on a soldier outside a Woolwich army barracks yesterday bore several similarities to a 2009 plot in which several men targeted Holsworthy Barracks in south-western Sydney.

AUSTRALIANS in London and the UK will play a key role as overseas electors in Australia’s federal election when they cast their votes on 14 September. ALP Abroad will be hosting their first election planning meeting next Thursday 30 May at The Blue Posts, and encourages potential volunteers to attend.

Indigenous leaders in the Northern Territory have hit back at comments made by Chief Minister Adam Giles that children that are neglected should be adopted out, regardless of fears that the government policy was reminiscent of the Stolen Generation.

Senior figures in the Australian Labor Party have lashed out at the powerful Australian Christian Lobby, with prominent government minister Penny Wong accusing the organisation of prejudice after they released a statement comparing the children of same sex couples to the Stolen Generation.

PARTICIPATE | A new research project seeks to understand the views of Australians who have moved to Britain, their experiences in settling in the UK, and how they maintain links with 'home'. If you are interested in discussing your experiences and contributing to the project, find out more below.

The federal coalition would not allow the privatisation of the ABC or SBS, says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

Billionaire resource magnate Clive Palmer has won a court battle worth millions of dollars, which centred around a single word in a contract.

Three of the ‘big four’ Australian banks have made the top 100 of a global survey of the world’s most valuable brands. The Brandz survey credits Australia’s strong economy for contributing to the growing value of Australian brands.

Australia’s audacious garden design has won the top prize at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London for the first time.

Federal Labor backbencher and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used his popular blog to outline his support for same sex marriage, writing that church and state “can have different positions” on the issue.

TRAVEL WRITER WINNER | Traversing the US and Canada by bus can be an eye-opening way to travel, in more ways than one. Our Great Travel Writer competition winner for April, ALICE RERDEN, shares her story.

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