Case filed Friday morning in Australia, two days after world-leading ban came into effect Reddit has filed a challenge the under-16s social media ban in the high court, filing its case on Friday morning, two days after implementing age restrictions on its website. The company said in a post on Friday that while Reddit agrees with protecting people under 16, “this law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t”. It added: “As the Australian Human Rights Commission put it, ‘There are less restrictive alternatives available that could achieve the aim of protecting children and young people from online harms, but without having such a significant negative impact on other human rights.’ ”Lastly, this law is applied to Reddit inaccurately, since we’re a forum primarily for adults and we don’t have the traditional social media features the government has taken issue with.” Continue reading...

If you want kids to open the pages, not just the present, choose a book that feels like a treat – and show young Australians that reading matters The Black Friday sales have disappeared in the rearview mirror, but gift-buying season is still in full swing. And while it’s easy to pay lip service to the “four gift” rule – something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read – I’m suggesting that, with the cost of living cutting deep and the festive spirit in short supply, we bring it into laser-like focus. In fact, I’m suggesting we target item number four: give a book to every Australian child and teenager. Continue reading...

Department of Finance opts not to take up a review’s recommendation that public servants only use business class on flights of three hours or more * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese says federal bureaucrats should look for “value for money at all times” despite the government rejecting expert calls to tighten the rules around expensing short-haul business-class flights. Amid the growing expenses saga roiling Labor, the Department of Finance has opted not to take up a recommendation that public servants only be permitted to book business-class fares on flights of three hours or more, up from the current two-hour threshold. Continue reading...

With 53-day wait time for aged care assessment, advocate says some doctors are advising elderly to be admitted to hospital to speed up referral * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese is pressing state and territory leaders to accept more than $20bn in extra spending for public hospitals or the federal government will pursue “other options” to end a protracted standoff over health funding. State health ministers will meet with their federal counterpart, Mark Butler, on Friday, as advocates for elderly Australians say shortages in aged care facilities are putting further pressure on overcrowded hospitals. Continue reading...

NSW housing policy states higher density developments must allocate some ‘affordable’ units – but in some suburbs these can still fetch up to $1,000 a week * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The trend of knocking down older blocks of flats to replace them with a smaller number of luxury apartments in parts of Sydney could see community support for development dive, federal independent MP Allegra Spender has warned. Spender, whose Wentworth electorate takes in Bondi, Potts Point and Paddington, has written to the New South Wales housing minister, Rose Jackson, calling for urgent action. Continue reading...

Greens MP condemns ‘pathetic’ level of funding to deal with lead contamination in state’s far west * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast NSW Health resisted government advice to strengthen protections for children exposed to lead in Broken Hill, despite internal documents acknowledging that far lower blood lead levels than those recognised in current guidelines can harm developing brains. Newly released documents reveal the Department of Premier and Cabinet urged a whole-of-government response to consider lowering the blood lead investigation threshold – the level at which a child’s blood test result should trigger a health response – from 5 micrograms of lead per decilitre (5μg/dL) to 3.5μg/dL. Continue reading...

After a few nomadic years in Europe the wonder kid has ‘remembered what he is all about’, giving hope he may yet reach his immense potential But for Emiliano Martínez’s outstretched arms, eh? A golden chance, deep in injury-time, for Australia’s wonder kid to become their golden boy, to push Argentina into an extra 30 minutes in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup. “Liked what you saw there? You just wait ‘til 2026,” the Guardian wrote of Garang Kuol 1,104 days ago. He had, aged 18 years and 79 days, become the youngest player to appear in the knock-out stages since Pelé in 1958. Continue reading...

It is really satisfying for me to see beautiful, cranky lesbians take the lead in TV’s buzziest new shows, Pluribus and The Beast in Me I recently went on a holiday for a few days, and as part of that holiday, I caught up on a lot of television shows. Don’t judge me, we all relax in our own ways! I looked at nature too! It’s sort of part of my job! (and other defences). I am someone who keeps up with new TV shows. I watch everything that is popping off – but I’m happy to admit that as a didn’t-grow-up-with-women-kissing-each-other-on-TV lesbian, I will go out of my way to seek out ANY shows about queer people, especially if women are going to kiss each other. Continue reading...

A far cry from hand-scrawled letters to Santa, on graphic design platform Canva users have created a whopping 1.4m Christmas wishlist presentations * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Twas three weeks before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for my 13-year-old daughter, who emerged from her lair with a level of vim uncommon in daylight hours. As she made her approach with laptop aglow, her droll little mouth was drawn up in a bow. It then became apparent that I was about to become the audience (some may say “victim”) of a recent cultural phenomenon: the Christmas wishlist slideshow. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New research points to need for ‘holistic approach to combating illicit tobacco’ including having support of health advocates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Slashing the tobacco excise might not be enough to lure smokers back to legal cigarettes, and could even widen the multi-billion dollar hole blown in the budget by the booming illicit trade, new research shows. The analysis from the e61 Institute comes as Jim Chalmers revealed next week’s mid-year fiscal update will reveal an extra $12.7bn in unanticipated spending, including an additional $6.3bn in higher than expected disaster relief payments. Continue reading...

Attorney general Deb Frecklington says ban was a ‘financial gerrymander’ because it didn’t apply to trade unions * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Queensland’s Liberal National party government will overturn a ban on property developer donations and quadruple the state cap on electoral donations, after tabling new laws which the Greens claim will “legalise another avenue of corruption”. Developers have been prohibited from donating to candidates and parties in state elections since a 2018 bill passed under Labor. Continue reading...

Emergency warning issued in parts of Kenwick, Wattle Grove, Maddington and Beckenham in Perth’s southeast A life-threatening bushfire is burning near suburban homes of a capital city, with residents warned to leave and multiple roads already closed. An emergency warning has been issued in parts of Kenwick, Wattle Grove, Maddington and Beckenham in Perth’s southeast. Continue reading...

The federal opposition and crossbenchers have backed a review of expenses spending rules Anthony Albanese has sidestepped calls for reform or an inquiry into politicians’ expenses and travel perks, saying he is more focused on the under-16s social media ban than growing community outrage over MP’s using taxpayer funds to fly their spouses to football games, cricket matches and exclusive dinners. At a press conference held at a school in Canberra to promote the under-16s social media ban, Albanese was asked repeatedly about Guardian Australia’s reporting that senior politicians like himself, Anika Wells and Don Farrell enjoy essentially “unlimited” entitlements to fly their spouses around the country. Twice he said: “I haven’t changed the rule”. Continue reading...

As part of wider strategy, opposition is exploring options to force visa holders to adhere to ‘Australian values’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Curtailing procedural rights for asylum seekers will trigger more appeals and keep people “in limbo for years”, advocates warn, as the opposition weighs a hardline plan to speed up deportations. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s head of advocacy, Ogy Simic, implored the Coalition to heed the advice of experts “not the opinions of Pauline Hanson” as it develops an immigration policy that is designed, in part, to combat the political threat of One Nation. Continue reading...

Updated estimate reflects more accurate technology and extensive survey work, rather than a true increase in the koala population * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The first comprehensive koala survey conducted in New South Wales suggests populations of the endangered marsupial are higher than previously thought. The NSW government’s statewide survey, released on Thursday, estimates there are 274,000 koalas across the state. Continue reading...

Visitors will have to reveal at the border all social media activity over the past five years * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australians are abandoning travel to the US, and boycotting World Cup matches there next year, as the Trump administration flags new rules that will soon require visitors to hand over their social media history when applying to enter the country. In a notice published on Tuesday, the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said tourists to the US from 42 countries including Australia would have to reveal all of their social media activity over the past five years under the new rules, which are up for a 60-day review before coming into effect. It would be a part of the application for a visa waiver under the ESTA application process. Continue reading...

* Four independent directors sacked by Holman Barnes Group invited back * No bearing on Shane Richardson’s exit as hunt for new CEO starts Barry O’Farrell is set to return as Wests Tigers chair alongside his ousted independent directors after the joint-venture club’s owners bowed to NRL demands. In the latest bizarre twist after 10 days of Tigers turmoil, the Holman Barnes Group (HBG) on Thursday agreed to invite back the board members sacked last Monday. Continue reading...

The government will argue that the under-16s ban is a pragmatic first step in trying to reduce the potential harm on young people of addictive products. It is not undermining the democratic process * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A constitutional challenge is pending against the government’s under-16 social media account ban. The case argues that the law contravenes the implied freedom of political communication. It is likely to fail. Two 15-year-olds, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, backed by the Digital Freedom Project advocacy group will argue that the law is unconstitutional because it impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication. Continue reading...

Dean Sanderson died of head and chest injuries and his wife, Shannon, suffered broken ribs and a fractured scapula after falling 20-25 metres to the ground * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A man died and his wife was badly injured after a tourist zip line system they were riding on failed because it wasn’t anchored tightly enough, a coronial inquest has heard. Coroner Wayne Pennell held a pre-inquest hearing on Thursday into the death of Dean Sanderson at Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours at Cape Tribulation, in north Queensland on 22 October 2019. Continue reading...

Former judge did not prove the ACT integrity commission’s findings of his “dishonesty, bad faith, and partiality” were without evidence, court finds Walter Sofronoff has lost his bid against the ACT integrity commission’s finding he engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” by leaking his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann to two journalists ahead of its official release. On Thursday, Justice Wendy Abraham dismissed Sofronoff’s attempt the overturn the the integrity body’s finding earlier this year in federal court, upholding many it’s conclusions. Continue reading...

Labor and Coalition cut deal which unions argue will deny income support to people who can’t work * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Workers suffering psychological injuries in New South Wales will have their compensation entitlements slashed under a controversial deal between Labor and the Coalition. The major parties announced on Thursday that they would pass legislation early in 2026 that would freeze premiums for 18 months, saving businesses and charities from a projected 36% increase over the next three years. Continue reading...

Running tends to get characterised as an entirely physical pursuit, which is probably why I avoided it for so long For a long time, one of the defining activities of my life has been collecting little facts: I never really grew out of that “show-and-tell” mindset that defined us all as children. There’s nothing I like more than submerging myself in a subject area for a couple of weeks, grabbing as many stories as I can, and then turning to my friends and saying, “Did you know …” If this makes me sound insufferable, it’s because I probably am, but at least I make up for it by providing little anecdotes about the life of Ludwig von Köchel, the man who invented the system for organising the music of Mozart (he was also an accomplished botanist). It doesn’t even really matter what the area of interest is. Over the course of a couple of weeks this year, I read back to back biographies about Malcolm X before discovering the Swedish band Bob Hund, who sing exclusively in a language I don’t speak, and who I could now deliver a short-ish university lecture on, if anyone was interested (my email’s available on my website). Continue reading...

Stargazers will be able to see potentially dozens of meteors an hour, with the peak on Sunday night * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast They’re bright, they’re plentiful and the Geminids – which make up what’s regarded as one of the best annual meteor showers to witness – are about to reach their peak viewing time. The Geminid meteors have already been active in our skies since 4 December, building up to the best night of the year to see them on Sunday. Continue reading...

Sex and nudity, violence and health and safety rank as top concerns among 5,000 complaints assessed by watchdog * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Cars driving through a zombie neighbourhood, a boy picking his nose and a girl flipping off the camera are among the ads that garnered the most complaints. Sex and nudity, violence, and health and safety drew the most reactions among the 5,000 complaints about more than 230 commercials assessed by Australia’s regulator in 2025. Continue reading...

Whether you’re a kitchen rookie or an advanced home cook, these appetiser and pot luck recipes bring self-confidence too Like nibblies, the concept of bringing a plate to a social event or a host’s home can be deeply confusing across cultures and generations. Are you carting canapes? Are you slinging salad? Are you delivering dessert? If we’ve learned anything from the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, it’s that communication is key. So if you’re unsure about what your host expects, just ask. Below are nine summer-friendly recipes to suit various bring-a-plate scenarios: one-bite snacks that go with cocktails, salads to bring to barbecues and make-ahead dessert for dinner parties, arranged in each category from easiest to most ambitious. Continue reading...