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As bushfire smoke choked NSW, Sydneysiders rallied to demand climate action

Thousands gathered in Sydney to demand climate change action in the midst of a devastating bushfire season.




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False arson claims spread on social media amid Australian bushfire crisis

Social media experts have warned of a "disinformation campaign" aimed at creating a false narrative of arson being solely responsible for the Australian bushfire emergency.




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'100 seconds to midnight': Australia singled out as Doomsday Clock advances

Nuclear war, climate change and misinformation have been identified as the three issues that could lead to a man-made apocalypse.




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A group of people in Adelaide will spend five days reading aloud a major climate report in full

Politicians, scientists, business leaders and artists will take part in the five-day public reading of a more than 500-page landmark climate change report this week.




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Half the world's beaches could vanish by 2100 and Australia's coastline will be hit the hardest

Climate change and sea-level rise are currently on track to wipe out half the world's sandy beaches by 2100, researchers warn.




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More and more uni students in Australia are choosing to study the environment

As a new year of tertiary education gets underway and Australia recovers from a summer of bushfires, Australian universities have told SBS News there has been increasing interest in their environment courses. Here, three students share their motivations.




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Study shows 'climate-change fingerprint' in Australian bushfires

A study suggests Australian bushfires were 30 per cent more likely as a result of climate change but there was no clear climate-change driver for local drought.




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Climate scientists say coronavirus could be Australia's golden opportunity

Climate experts say the way Australia chooses to rebuild its economy after the COVID-19 pandemic will seal its climate change fate.




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Fury over killer drink-driver plea deal

CHARGES against a man who was more than double the legal alcohol limit when he killed his mate and injured two others have been downgraded, angering one of the survivors.




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Falling power use due to coronavirus risks system overload and blackouts, experts warn

Falling demand for electricity caused by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic could leave WA's main electricity system at risk of a solar power overload within months, experts have warned.




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'Freaking out' and 'falling through the cracks': Screen industry workers explain the shutdown crisis

With the shutdown of an estimated 100 film and TV shoots, many of the sector's 30,000 workers lost their entire income overnight and say they can't access the Government's job assistance schemes.




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The desert is now deserted, so these locals are seeing Uluru in new light

Uluru in 2020 is a rare sight for Mutitjulu local Verna Wilson, who is taking her kids out to see parts of Kata Tjuta National Park that are typically bustling with tourists.




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Australia's roads are empty now, but what happens after coronavirus?

Experts say going back to the normal gridlock on city transport networks in a post-coronavirus world is not only unappealing — it's unnecessary.




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Coronavirus to wipe half a billion dollars off Cairns tourism in two months

With tourism ground to a halt, industry experts say Cairns will be one of the regions hardest hit by coronavirus, estimating it is on track to lose $500 million in visitor spending by April.



  • Epidemics and Pandemics
  • COVID-19
  • Travel Health and Safety
  • Great Barrier Reef
  • Oceans and Reefs
  • Government and Politics
  • Tourism
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Diseases and Disorders
  • Infectious Diseases (Other)
  • Respiratory Diseases

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Grattan Institute projects 3.4 million Australians will lose jobs, and predicts which industries will be hit hardest

The think tank predicts between 14 and 26 per cent of the entire Australian workforce will lose their job, if they haven't already, as a result of government shutdowns and physical distancing rules.




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Australian Government tells Facebook and Google to pay for news

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says a mandatory code will help "level the playing field" by requiring digital platforms such as Google and Facebook to pay news media businesses for the content they produce.




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$52.8m boost for aeromedical capacity to respond to rural COVID-19 cases

The funding for services like the RFDS will allow them to evacuate coronavirus patients to larger medical centres and fly in medical workers and equipment for regional respiratory clinics.




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600,000 people out of a job, 1.6 million with no income from work: ABS estimates the initial cost of coronavirus

A new survey from the ABS shows the extreme effect of coronavirus social-distancing measures on employment, with well over a million workers losing their incomes in the space of a month.




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Virgin Australia pilot calls for a last-minute lifeline

Virgin Australia captain George Kailis has been flying planes for almost 20 years, but fears for himself and co-workers as the company looks likely to enter into voluntary administration.




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Branson calls for UK Government bailout to save Virgin airlines

In an open letter to Virgin employees, Sir Richard Branson calls on the UK Government to help save Virgin Atlantic, while warning against allowing Qantas "a monopoly" should Virgin Australia "disappear".




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Virgin Australia expected to go into voluntary administration

Virgin Australia is expected to announce the airline will go into voluntary administration, with Deloitte tipped to help the company restructure about $5 billion in debt and pay off its creditors.




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US oil price falls below $0 for first time

The benchmark price for US crude plummeted to negative $US35.20 a barrel as traders sought to avoid owning crude with nowhere to store it.




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'Everything has to change' — The new laws to deal with Victoria's coronavirus emergency

Changes necessary for the Victorian Government to deal with the coronavirus pandemic include plans to hold judge-only trials and giving councils the power to hold meetings online.




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ASX falls as US oil price collapses, Wall Street tanks

Australian shares drop in the wake of US oil prices falling below zero for the first time, underscoring the chaos the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed on the global economy.




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'No job losses planned' as Virgin Australia goes into voluntary administration

Australia's troubled second airline, which saw its cash flow collapse because of tough coronavirus travel restrictions, appoints accounting firm Deloitte to act as administrator after the Federal Government rejected calls to bail it out.




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Rex to continue servicing regional airports after Government offers COVID-19 lifeline

The Federal Government has thrown airline Regional Express a funding lifeline to continue servicing airports in regional Australia during the ongoing pandemic.




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Between a croc and a hard place: Inside a farming couple's fight to save their scaly charges

Farmer John Lever and his wife Lillian say their Koorana Crocodile Farm has just two weeks of food left to feed 3,000 crocodiles, so they're offering an 'adopt a croc' program to raise funds.




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'Tremendously sad': Barrie Cassidy and Annika Smethurst on why regional media matters

What do Barrie Cassidy, Annika Smethurst, Tony Wright and Sean Murphy have in common? They all got their start on country newspapers. And recent mass closures have had a visceral impact on each of them.




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Young people dominate nearly 800,000 job losses since COVID-19 crisis escalated

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 5.5 per cent slump in jobs in the first week after extensive business shutdowns and social-distancing limits were introduced to contain the virus, new ABS figures show.




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Worker killed in industrial accident at quarry north of Adelaide

Police and paramedics are at the scene of a fatal industrial accident at Truro north of Adelaide, where a man has been killed.




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Virgin going into administration a 'real failure' for regional communities

Regional centres are concerned they could be badly hit by the potential collapse of Virgin Australia, with higher airfares and less competition.



  • Health
  • Diseases and Disorders
  • COVID-19
  • Business
  • Economics and Finance
  • Community and Society
  • Government and Politics

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From flying planes to stacking shelves — Virgin Australia staff react to airline's insolvency

Virgin Australia's potential collapse has left staff scrambling for jobs, as tourism and aviation industries prepare for the threat of major player leaving the market.




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Australia faces biggest economic contraction since Great Depression, Reserve Bank warns

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe warns Australia's unemployment rate is likely to hit 10 per cent by June, and even though Australia will recover, the coronavirus emergency "will cast a shadow over our economy for some time to come".




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Brent oil futures drop to near two-decade low amid falling demand and storage woes

With the world experiencing "the biggest supply and demand disparity in history", benchmark Brent oil futures fall to their lowest level since November 2001.




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Could smaller nuclear reactors be a possible energy source for Queensland?

The debate over nuclear technology is a controversial one, yet many leaders in the field believe it's time for an open and calm discussion about the energy alternative.




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COVID-19 hoarding triggers record surge in retail sales, but a payback is coming

Supermarket and grocery store turnover leapt 22 per cent in March on panic buying of toilet paper and food but sales are expected to fall as stockpiling subsides and major retailers, including Myer, extend shutdowns.




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Australia capitalises on low fuel prices to establish stockpile in US

Australia will buy fuel from the US at historic low prices to bolster its national stockpile, after criticisms that the Government only holds about 30 days' worth of fuel in domestic storage, far below the 90-day minimum.




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Ruby Princess doctor tells inquiry she would not have allowed passengers to disembark

The senior doctor on board the Ruby Princess tells an inquiry she is surprised passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney last month despite some displaying COVID-19 symptoms.




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Many WA businesses already struggling fear they've just been hit with a knockout blow

The tourism industry warns if Virgin Australia collapses it could deliver a knockout blow to many WA businesses who were already on their knees as a result of coronavirus.




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Waiting on a parcel from Australia Post? This is why it's taking so long

As Australians stay at home, and with many bricks and mortar stores closed, more of us are shopping online, placing a huge strain on the postal service.



  • COVID-19
  • Diseases and Disorders
  • Infectious Diseases (Other)
  • Epidemics and Pandemics
  • Health
  • Business
  • Economics and Finance
  • Community and Society

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'Quite a number of angry phone calls': Thousands sign NT landlords' petition against renters' rights to pets

Property owners are calling for pet-friendly tenancy laws to be scrapped before they are even enacted in the Northern Territory, as the Parliament prepares to vote on protections for renters during the pandemic.




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Australia calls for independent study of wet market risks in response to COVID-19 pandemic

Australia is ratcheting up pressure on China to look into the health risks associated with wildlife wet markets as the world continues to battle the deadly spread of the coronavirus pandemic.




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Virgin Australia's 'haircut' will have a 'domino effect' on jobs

The future of Australian aviation is crucial for the wider tourism sector, which is already bleeding because of recent travel bans initiated to stop the spread of COVID19.




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From patient zero to the world: COVID-19's devastating global journey

The spread of today's scourge may seem breathtaking in its scale and carnage, but in some ways we are lucky. We could be dealing with a modern-day plague with global deaths measured in their hundreds of millions.




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'Severe and long-lasting impacts': Queensland braces for economic fallout amid Virgin administration

For Queensland, the pain of a possible collapse of Virgin Australia runs deep, with nearly half of its workforce based in the state.




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Science denial among top 10 greatest risks to humankind, new report claims

A new report has ranked disdain for scientific knowledge as one of humanity's biggest threats, alongside climate change, nuclear war, and artificial intelligence.




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ASX slips as health stocks drag, oil rally boosts energy stocks

The Australian share market eases from early gains. US stocks rise on more money from Congress, oil prices bouncing off record lows and more optimistic corporate outlooks.




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Calm before the storm? House prices tipped to tumble as auction clearance rates slump

A property analyst warns the worst-case scenario could see falls of up to 30 per cent, mainly in Sydney and Melbourne, while the end of the bank's mortgage repayment holidays will bring the real test for the housing market.




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Cheaper Australian-made ventilator offers greater ICU capability option amid coronavirus pandemic

An Australian-made ventilator that costs a tenth of the price of existing models is brought to life in just four weeks, which could revolutionise intensive care capability in the fight against COVID-19.




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ASX rises, US markets fall from highs after coronavirus treatment trial results

The Australian share market ends higher, despite Wall Street giving up most of its gains after leaked test results of a potential COVID-19 treatment prove disappointing.