Tag Archives: oceania

Even Aussies earning more than $100k battling ‘rental stress’

2025-03-18 FreeNews

Even Australians earning six-figure salaries can't comfortably afford rent in any capital city, new figures show.

According to the 2025 Priced Out report by national housing campaign Everybody's Home, rental stress is now impacting high income earners commanding a salary of $100,000 in Australia.

The report found solo renters now need an annual income of $130,000 to afford the average property without spending more than 30 per cent of their wage, which is the benchmark for rental stress.

A "now leasing" sign at a property listed for rent in Sydney.

It means even those earning well above $100,000, which is much higher than the median Australian income of $72,592, are struggling to afford rent in multiple cities.

Sydney renters earning $100,000 are spending an average of 48 per cent of their income on rent – the highest in all capital cities, the report found.

The second worst is Perth, where renters are forking out 43 per cent of their weekly income on rent, followed by Brisbane at 40 per cent, Canberra at 39 per cent and Melbourne at 38 per cent.

Adelaide renters are spending 35 per cent on rent while Darwin is close behind at 34 per cent.

Property housing auction real estate aerial Sydney

The most affordable capital city, according to the report, is Hobart – however renters earning $100,000 are still paying 32 per cent, which still officially categorises it as rental stress.

"This report exposes the stark reality facing Australian renters everyday," said Everybody's Home spokesperson Maiy Azize.

"Rental stress is no longer confined to those on lower incomes – it's affecting professionals, essential workers, and middle-income families who simply can't keep up with soaring rents.

Australian money background showing $100, $50 and $20 notes with a shallow depth of field.

"A $100,000 salary used to be considered a secure income, but our research shows people on this wage are struggling in both cities and regional areas because rents are so staggeringly high."

Azize pointed out rental stress is "even more dire" for those on middle or low incomes.

She said those earning $40,000 annually are in "extreme" rental stress, with rents in some cities amounting to 119 per cent of their income.

The campaign is calling on the federal government to prioritise housing, including boosting social housing to help low and middle income earners stay afloat.

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How NZ could face twice as many big rain-making ‘atmospheric rivers’ by the century’s end

2025-03-18 FreeNews

The country could be hit by many more extreme ‘atmospheric rivers’ in the coming decades.

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Dutton mulls over referendum to deport dual citizen criminals

2025-03-18 FreeNews

Coalition leader Peter Dutton is considering pushing to hold a referendum over deporting convicted criminals who hold dual citizenships.

The poll, if approved by the public, would amend the constitution to give the federal government the right to strip convicted dual national criminals of their Australian citizenship.

Senior Coalition sources confirmed to Nine newspaper The Age Dutton is considering the referendum as a serious prospect if he wins the upcoming federal election.

AFR Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton is in Melbourne, Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton is in Melbourne, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash Senator for WA, Senator James Paterson Senator for VIC at Press conference in Melbourne today Monday 17th March 2025 Melbourne Photo: Eamon Gallagher

A decision has reportedly not been made whether Dutton will officially announce the plans during the May campaign.

Dutton previously called for tougher citizenship-stripping laws following a video filmed by two Sydney nurses where they allegedly claimed they wouldn't treat Israeli patients in February.

"I think it's a conversation for our country at some point, maybe sooner than later, about how we can say to these people, 'If you don't share our values, if you're here and you're enjoying the welfare system and you're enjoying free health and free education, then at the same time you hate our country, well, I don't think you've got a place here'," Dutton told 2GB at the time.

Under current laws, the Commonwealth can apply to the court to strip a dual national person of their Australian citizenship if they have committed a serious offence and have been sentenced to more than three years behind bars.

In order for this to happen the person needs to demonstrate they have "repudiated their allegiance to Australia," The Department of Home Affairs states.

Image of Australian Citizenship Certificate shown with intentional selective focusing. Visible are the Coat of Arms and the details of the Commonwealth of Australia - Citizenship Act 2007.

A High Court ruling in 2022 also found it unconstitutional for ministers to strip dual nationals of their Australian citizenship.

The proposed referendum follows a similar proposal by former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015 to strip Australian terrorists of their citizenship, even those who aren't dual nationals.

Shortly following reports of Dutton's plans for a referendum, senior shadow minister Michaelia Cash said there were "no plans" for such a vote but was keeping "all options on the table".

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rubbished Dutton's proposal as a "thought bubble" and pointed out the Opposition Leader has been a vocal critic of holding referendums following the Voice.

AFR PM Anthony Albanese during a visit to Curtin University in Perth. 14 March, 2025. Photo: Trevor Collens

"Well, this is another thought bubble from Peter Dutton that hasn't made it to lunchtime," the PM said at a doorstep interview in Queensland today.

"Thought bubbles aimed at taking some things that might have occurred in other countries, aimed at dividing people," he added.

"It's the second referendum that he's called for. At the same time as he criticises referendums that he voted for."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers also criticised the referendum proposal as "bizarre".

"He quite bizarrely wants another referendum," Chalmers said.

"I don't think this idea will last long, just like a lot of the other things that he said, in an effort to try and avoid talking about the economy, and his cuts."

9news.com.au has contacted Dutton's office for comment.

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More than 100 surfers reportedly infected as yellow foam washes up on beaches

2025-03-18 FreeNews

A multi-agency investigation is under way after masses of yellow foam and dead sea creatures washed up on South Australian beaches, leaving more than 100 surfers reportedly infected.

Metres of foam and dozens of dead fish and seahorses stretch across Waitpinga and Parsons beaches within the Newland Head Conservation Park in Victor Habor.

Surfers and beachgoers over the weekend suffered cold and allergy-like symptoms, including itchy eyes, blurred vision, coughing and breathing difficulties.

A multi-agency investigation is underway after masses of yellow foam washed up on a popular South Australian beach, leaving surfers feeling sick and infected.

Anthony Rowland said he and more than 100 other surfers were infected while out in the water or the carpark on Saturday.

"We all experienced a sore throat, dry cough and irritated eyes. Some even reported blurred vision. It lasted 24 hours or so," he said in a social media post.

"In the following hours/days there was visible evidence that something weird is in the water.

"A lot of yellow foam and dark green tidelines on the beach and then on Sunday, while collecting water samples, I noticed a lot of different species of fish dead on the beach including a handful of leafy sea dragons."

The Department for Environment and Water has temporarily closed Waitpinga and Parsons beaches as the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and SA Health all investigate.

The EPA has confirmed receiving the reports, including of red staining on the sand, and said crews will attend the site to collect water samples.

A multi-agency investigation is underway after masses of yellow foam washed up on a popular South Australian beach, leaving surfers feeling sick and infected.

The event is believed to be due to a microalgal bloom — a harmful and toxic algal bloom caused by changes in temperature, light or rainfall.

"It is believed the event could be due to a microalgal bloom that has been driven by hot temperatures and still water and an ongoing marine heatwave, with temperatures currently 2.5 degrees warmer than usual, with little wind and small swell contributing to conditions," an EPA spokesperson said.

SA Health principal water quality adviser David Cunliffe said exposure to algae can cause general allergic-type responses including respiratory and eye irritation or skin rashes in some people and, if ingested, can cause stomach upsets or flu-like symptoms.

"These symptoms disappear when the exposure stops or following washing in clean water," he said.

"People should avoid contact with discoloured fresh or marine water. If they do enter this water they should take care to wash in clean water afterwards."

A multi-agency investigation is underway after masses of yellow foam washed up on a popular South Australian beach, leaving surfers feeling sick and infected.

PIRSA will probe the cause of the dead fish and seahorses to rule out infectious and notifiable animal diseases and coordinate a response.

"Fish kill events can be brought on by a variety of causes including environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall (or lack of) and water quality including salinity or oxygen levels, or by disease or pollutants," a PIRSA spokesperson said.

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Nearly 100 galaxies revealed in first images from WA telescope

2025-03-18 FreeNews

The first image from the unfinished SKA-Low telescope in Western Australia has revealed almost 100 rare galaxies in what is a promising indication of the future for the world's largest radio observatory.

The image was produced with just 1024 of the planned 131,072 antennas, or less than 1 per cent, at the station on Wajarri Yamaji Country, and shows an area of sky about the size of 100 moons.

In the image, 85 of the brightest known galaxies, which appear as pinpricks of light, are visible, millions of light years away. At the centre of each are supermassive black holes – black holes hundreds of thousands to millions of times larger in mass to our Sun.

SKA Telescope first image

"The quality of this image was even beyond what we hoped for using such an early version of the telescope," SKA-Low Lead Commissioning Scientist Dr George Heald said.

"The bright galaxies we can see in this image are just the tip of iceberg."

The SKA Telescope works by combining the signals from many antennae spread over a large area into a single 'dish'.

"With the full telescope we will have the sensitivity to reveal the faintest and most distant galaxies, back to the early Universe when the first stars and galaxies started to form," Heald said.

SKA Telescope first image

When the telescope is fully functioning, SKA says that studying the same area of sky will reveal more an 600,000 galaxies in a single frame.

"This is technically difficult work and the first step to unlocking the awesome science that will be possible," said Heald.

SKA (Square Kilometre Array) Observatory is an international and intergovernmental radio telescope project, the WA telescope on of two SKA telescopes being built in Australia and South Africa.

SKA Observatory

The telescope today is a culmination of work from astronomers, computer scientists, and engineers from around the world over a decade, SKA-Low Telescope Director Dr Sarah Pearce said.

"It's amazing to see all this work come together to give our first glimpse of the brilliant images that will come from SKA-Low, promising us a view of the Universe we've never seen before," she said.

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French politician demands US ‘return’ Statue of Liberty

2025-03-18 FreeNews

Hey, America: Give the Statue of Liberty back to France.

So says a French politician who is making headlines in his country for suggesting that the US is no longer worthy of the monument that was a gift from France nearly 140 years ago.

As a member of the European Parliament and co-president of a small left-wing party in France, Raphaël Glucksmann cannot claim to speak for all of his compatriots.

But his assertion in a speech this weekend that some Americans "have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants" reflects the broad shockwaves that US President Donald Trump's seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policy are triggering in France and elsewhere in Europe.

"Give us back the Statue of Liberty," Glucksmann said, speaking Sunday to supporters of his Public Place party, who applauded and whistled.

"It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her. So she will be happy here with us," Glucksmann said.

The White House brushed back on the comments Monday, saying France instead should still be "grateful" for US support during World War I and World War II.

Can France claim it back?

Dream on.

UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural arm that has the statue on its list of World Heritage treasures, notes that the iconic monument is US government property.

It was initially envisaged as a monumental gesture of French-American friendship to mark the 100th anniversary of the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.

But a war that erupted in 1870 between France and German states led by Prussia diverted the energies of the monument's designer, French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi.

The gift also took time to be funded, with a decision taken that the French would pay for the statue and Americans would cover the costs of its pedestal.

Transported in 350 pieces from France, the statue was officially unveiled October 28, 1886.

Is France's government offering asylum to Lady Liberty?

No. French-US relations would have to drop off a cliff before Glucksmann found support from French President Emmanuel Macron's government.

For the moment, the French president is treading a fine line – trying to work with Trump and temper some of his policy shifts on the one hand but also pushing back hard against some White House decisions, notably Trump's tariff hikes.

Macron has let his prime minister, François Bayrou, play the role of being a more critical voice. Bayrou tore into the "brutality" that was shown to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his White House visit and suggested that Trump's administration risked handing victory to Russia when it paused military aid to Ukraine.

Glucksmann's party has been even more critical, posting accusations on its website that Trump is wielding power in an "authoritarian" manner and is "preparing to deliver Ukraine on a silver platter" to Russia.

In his speech, Glucksmann referenced New York poet Emma Lazarus' words about the statue, the "mighty woman with a torch" who promised a home for the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

"Today, this land is ceasing to be what it was," Glucksmann said.

What is the White House saying?

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Monday about Glucksmann's comments, and responded that the US would "absolutely not" be parting with the iconic statue.

"My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now," Leavitt said, apparently referencing the US fight with allied powers to free France from Nazi occupation in World War II and alongside France during World War I.

"They should be very grateful."

But the debt of gratitude runs both ways. Leavitt skipped past France's key role in supporting the future US during its war for independence from the United Kingdom.

Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds.

The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

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Murder charge laid after ‘caring, generous’ dad died on morning walk

2025-03-17 FreeNews

A 20-year-old man is in custody charged with murdering an Adelaide father who was on his daily morning walk in a park.

9News has been told screaming was heard around the time of the alleged killing, with police yet to reveal a potential motive.

Rylie Everson-Clare, 20, faced court today charged with murder after Aaron Stahlhut, 54, from Marden, was found dead on a walking path in a North Adelaide park yesterday morning.

The father is being remembered as caring, loving and generous by loved ones, with flowers laid where he died.

CCTV shows him heading down O'Connell Street in North Adelaide carrying a coffee, moments before workers heard a commotion coming from Brougham Reserve.

The man, who 9News understands was an executive with Hewlett-Packard, was found unresponsive and surrounded by blood.

Paramedics rushed him to hospital but he couldn't be saved.

A woman who laid flowers at the scene early this morning said Stahlhut was her best friend.

She said he would be remembered as a wise, generous, and loving father, and that she couldn't think of any reason why someone would hurt him.

Last night police made an arrest a few blocks away on Margaret Street.

Everson-Clare made only a brief appearance at the Adelaide Magistrates Court where he didn't apply for bail.

The 20-year-old, who is charged with murder, stood silently in the courtroom and showed very little emotion during his hearing.

Prosecutors asked the court for the accused to be held in custody under a mental health order.

Very few details were mentioned but according to the accused's social media, he was a former student at Westminster College and played football for Adelaide University.

A man has died in a park in Adelaide.
The 54-year-old was found collapsed on a path by members of the public while on his morning walk.

It's understood he spent today being interviewed by detectives, and video of that interview has been handed to the defence.

Everson-Clare will remain behind bars for now, unless he decides to make an application for bail.

In the meantime, a mental health report has been ordered ahead of his charge determination in August.

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Breakthrough testing for brain disease brings sports stars hope

2025-03-17 FreeNews

Scientists have made a major breakthrough for early diagnosis of a brain disorder afflicting some of Australia's football greats, which could lead to previously impossible treatment.

Caused by repeated head knocks, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is not unlike Alzheimer's, is frequently found in rugby league and AFL stars.

An autopsy after death has been the only method of certain diagnosis until now.

NRL legend Wally Lewis has been diagnosed with probable CTE via this new method.

Symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement, mood changes, and motor problems, but a diagnosis can only be made by examining the brain after death.

Now, neuroscientists in New Zealand have made a breakthrough for early testing using brain tissue mainly from former rugby players.

"What we found essentially is that there's a pattern of inflammation around blood vessels in CTE which is different to what we see in people who don't have the disease," University of Auckland research fellow Dr Helen Murray said.

The hallmarks of CTE are brown lesions on the brain, abnormal proteins called tau not dissimilar to Alzheimer's disease, but in different areas.

Associate Professor and Australian Sports Brain Bank Director Dr Michael Buckland said these findings could pave the way for a blood test to diagnose CTE earlier on.

"If these changes occurred or preceded CTE, its a possibility that you may be able to intervene, treat people early on," he said.

Dr Murray said that earlier diagnosis may mean CTE can be dealt with during someone's lifetime through "pharmaceuticals, resting, and letting that inflammation go away".

NRL legend Wally Lewis has been diagnosed with probable CTE via this new method.

Scientists have made a major breakthrough for early diagnosis of a brain disorder afflicting some of Australia's football greats, which could lead to previously impossible treatment.Caused by repeated head knocks, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is not unlike Alzheimer's, is frequently found in rugby league and AFL stars.

"It just became almost monotonous – where I could not remember what I'd just been told in a general everyday conversation," Lewis told 9News of his syptoms.

Other NRL sporting greats including Steve Folks and Paul Green were both diagnosed with CTE after death, while hallmarks of the disease were also found in the brain of recently-deceased 20-year-old rising star Keith Titmuss.

AFL stars including Graham "Polly" Farmer, Shane Tuck, Danny Frawley, and women's premiership player Heather Anderson were also diagnosed with CTE through autopsy.

The NRL is taking the issue seriously, introducing a series of measures to protect players including a compulsory 11-day stand-down for anyone found to be concussed.

Dr Buckland says a living diagnosis will happen with new technology and funding, with significant progress possible in the next few years.

"I can see that in reach, I think we're getting close," he said.

"It's the first time brain banks from Australia, New Zealand, and the US have all collaborated to work together on a specific problem.

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Siblings accused of turning ‘vigilante’ after alleged car theft leads to stabbing

2025-03-17 FreeNews

A group of western Sydney brothers and sisters is accused of turning into "vigilantes", after they tracked down a ute that was allegedly stolen from the family home.

Police say the family members sparked a brawl at Green Valley in Mount Pritchard this morning, which left one of the accused ute thieves in hospital.

Footage obtained by 9News shows an alleged car-thief, fresh from casing a Mount Pritchard family home, and another balaclava-clad accomplice about to make off with a Mazda Ute.

Seven people have been arrested after an alleged stabbing and brawl in western Sydney.At about 4.15am, police were called to the scene of a reported fight in Taminga Road, Green Valley.

Four days later, after 4am today, one of the men was wheeled into Liverpool Hospital.

He was allegedly intercepted in Green Valley by his alleged victims in darkness, cutting the joy-ride short.

Neighbours say they heard a street-fight, saying they people were "waving their arms, running around going crazy".

Then, police say one of the men accused of taking the ute was stabbed.

Police arrested four women – aged 19, 32, 33, and 59 – and two men, aged 26 and 21.

A family of alleged vigilantes tracked their Mazda to Taminga Road using an Apple AirTag.

Steven Tonga woke to discover his three sons and two daughters were all under arrest.

The family says it grew tired of waiting for police to do something about the case.

"I think the police didn't care. When they report the car last week, nobody's come here at all," Tonga, said.

"They're friendly kids, my community know us very well, but they're not violent kids."

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the investigation was being conducted by local police.

Seven people have been arrested after an alleged stabbing and brawl in western Sydney.At about 4.15am, police were called to the scene of a reported fight in Taminga Road, Green Valley.