Sarah Basford Canales

Refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru going hungry despite government spending $1.5m a year for each person The Australian government is spending millions of dollars a year to house asylum seekers, yet many say they can not afford food and are forced to skip meals

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Mass slaughter in Gaza stands apart from other genocides, Chris Sidoti says: ‘People cannot escape’ Australian human rights expert who was on UN commission of inquiry labels Israel’s strategy a failure that ‘has not brought peace and has not destroyed Hamas’

Australian human rights expert who was on UN commission of inquiry labels Israel’s strategy a failure that ‘has not brought peace and has not destroyed Hamas’, by Ben Doherty v @australia.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

US private prisons operator to be paid $790m to hold 100 people on Nauru in quiet expansion of contract Exclusive: A sixteenfold increase in the original contract without public notification raises allegations of ‘gross mismanagement’ and a process ‘run out of control’

A US private prison company will receive $157m/year to run Australia’s offshore processing regime in Nauru – currently holding 100+ people – after the govt quietly expanded its contract by more than $350m to $787m.

w Ben Doherty v @australia.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Liberal MPs speak up about ‘disturbing’ Advance campaign against ‘mass immigration’ Several MPs say the activist group’s advertising push is becoming a problem for the party because ‘you cannot win from the margins’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Several Liberal MPs have raised concerns an anti-immigration campaign by the activist group Advance is hurting the party’s brand and alienating migrant communities. Analysis of Advance’s Meta advertising since May’s federal election shows it has promoted 44 anti-immigration ads, with more than 1.5m impressions. Continue reading...

Liberal MPs speak up about ‘disturbing’ Advance campaign against ‘mass immigration’

Netanyahu lashes out at Albanese as ‘weak politician who betrayed Israel’ as diplomatic row escalates Israel’s prime minister accuses Australian leader of ‘abandoning’ Jews as tension escalates over visa cancellation and Palestinian recognition

Israel’s prime minister steps up his criticism of Australia, accusing Anthony Albanese of "abandoning" Jews as tension escalates over visa cancellation and Palestinian recognition via @australia.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Israel’s foreign minister revokes visas of Australian representatives to Palestinian Authority The move follows Australia’s refusal of a visa for the far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman

Israel's move follows Australia’s refusal of a visa for the far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, via @australia.theguardian.com
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‘It’s a takeover’: the South Australian power player reshaping the state Liberal party Charismatic senator Alex Antic has risen to the top of factional state politics, bringing his conservative religious supporters with him. Is it a roadmap for the national Liberal party’s existential c...

ICYMI: Alex Antic has risen to the top of the SA Liberals, bringing his conservative religious supporters with him. In the third of a four-part series on the Coalition, we examine whether it's a cautionary tale for the party’s existential crisis.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Defence failed to properly investigate bribery allegations against Australian navy contractor officials, audit finds Poor management of contracts worth more than $3.5bn has led to critical failures, including during a Vanuatu cyclone humanitarian operation, the ANAO says * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Defence officials failed to properly document and investigate bribery allegations made against navy contractor officials, a scathing audit report on the multibillion-dollar commissioning and maintenance of two military ships has found. Defence also determined a senior official involved in finding a supplier to take on a $700m maintenance and upkeep contract – who took a job offer with the winning contractor in the middle of the process – did not give rise to a conflict of interest. Continue reading...

Defence failed to properly investigate bribery allegations against Australian navy contractor officials, audit finds

Tony Abbott tells Advance supporters bequeathing money to rightwing group will ‘protect’ Australian values New offshoot named Advance Generations endorsed by former PM as group calls Welcome to Country ceremonies a ‘tool to indoctrinate’ children * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The rightwing lobby group Advance will court donations from deceased estates with the blessing of former prime minister Tony Abbott as part of its latest efforts to fundraise for its campaign war chest. Advance targeted the Greens at the latest federal election, claiming success after the minor party lost three lower house seats, including one held by former leader Adam Bandt. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Tony Abbott tells Advance supporters bequeathing money to rightwing group will ‘protect’ Australian values

The consulting firm allegedly offering private deals and collecting signatures to smooth way for Empire Energy gas sales Exclusive: Leaked documents claim Good Advice promised private deals, gathered signatures and hired land council members to smooth way for Northern Territory gas sales

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

A brilliant investigation by @lisacox.bsky.social

Sydney sisters return to Iran homeland after 38 years – only for history to repeat itself Melika and Betissa visited the place they fled as children and fell ‘in love’ with its rich culture. But then bombs began to fall again * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Iran that Melika and Betissa rediscovered after 38 years was a “wondrous” land until, once more, the bombs began to fall. The Sydney sisters had fled their birthplace Iran as children in 1987, amid the violence and the tumult of the Iran-Iraq war. Continue reading...

Sydney sisters return to Iran homeland after 38 years – only for history to repeat itself

Lidia Thorpe reveals she made bullying complaint about Dorinda Cox which remains unsre Independent senator disputes Anthony Albanese’s claim allegations against Greens-turned-Labor senator have been ‘dealt with’

ICYMI independent senator Lidia Thorpe disputes Anthony Albanese’s claim allegations against Greens-turned-Labor senator have been ‘dealt with’
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Wong condemns ‘abhorrent and outrageous’ comments by Netanyahu government members as global fury grows UK suspends trade negotiations over ‘monstrous’ rhetoric as Gaza starvation worsens

Penny Wong has condemned “abhorrent and outrageous” comments made by Netanyahu government members in recent days and said the Israeli government “cannot allow the suffering” in Gaza to continue.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Trad wives and Trump: the rise of the right wing ‘womanosphere’ - podcast New York-based writer Anna Silman talks to Nour Haydar about the anti-feminist media telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican

A bit late in the posting (big news day) but @nourhaydar.bsky.social did a deep dive into the right wing media ecosystem targeting young women online.

It's a good listen:

Larissa Waters urges Labor to be bold while Liberals in ‘electoral wilderness’ and says Greens hurt by ‘Trump effect’ New federal Greens leader says current political climate an opportunity for ‘real reform’ on environmental protections

Larissa Waters, the new federal Greens leader, says current political climate an opportunity for ‘real reform’ on environmental protections v @australia.theguardian.com
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Labor far outspends Coalition and Clive Palmer on Google and Meta ads amid calls for change to blackout laws Analysis of online ad data shows parties and affiliated groups spent more than $39m for political ads across Facebook, YouTube and Google search since 28 March

Researching what was happening with the advertising blackout period and found the govt introduced a bill to scrap it entirely rather than extending to social media and streaming but didn't pass before the election (spending story by @sbasfordcanales.bsky.social ) www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Liberal candidate says women should not serve in ADF combat roles amid range of controversial views Benjamin Britton, standing in the seat of Whitlam, told a rightwing podcast Australia’s education system ‘brainwashed’ students with Marxist ideology, and praised Isle of Man flat tax

Lib candidate for Whitlam Ben Britton claimed, without evidence, "woke ideologies" such as allowing women to serve in combat ADF roles were making Australia weak and schools were "brainwashing" kids with Marxist ideologies just months before his preselection.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Israeli politicians sign letter urging Australian MPs to dump two-state policy Letter from Knesset members addressed to Queensland LNP backbencher Andrew Wallace was distributed at event he hosted, attended by several Coalition MPs and senators

A handful of Israeli politicians, including one within Netanyahu’s ruling party, have urged Coalition MPs to dump Australia’s longstanding two-state policy on Israel and Palestine ahead of the upcoming federal election, v @australia.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

What a $5,000 ticket will and won’t get you at one of Canberra’s budget night fundraising soirees As you decipher how the budget may alter your life on Tuesday night, your politicians will be raking in the cash by wining and dining donors and lobbyists

As you decipher how the federal budget may alter your life on Tuesday night, your politicians will be raking in the cash by wining and dining donors and lobbyists in Canberra w @henrybelot.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Peter Dutton wants to cut public service jobs in Canberra. Here’s what happened last time There are 26,000 more APS employees than in 2022 but the bill for contractors has fallen from its Covid pandemic peak

Peter Dutton wants to slash the public service, just as Tony Abbott promised in the 2013 election. Here's what happened last time.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Crime without punishment: can a different kind of justice offer something more to sexual assault survivors? Proponents of restorative justice say it can offer a different type of justice, but is it a soft option for a serious crime?

Another powerful piece in the Broken Justice series by Celina Ribeiro. While it's not for everybody, it does seem like restorative justice could be a way forward in dealing with sexual offences. You can read more about it here: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... via @australia.theguardian.com

Moderate Liberals losing ground as hard-right faction looms large in Senate battle Leah Blyth, the party’s state president, is most likely to take Simon Birmingham’s former seat in the upper house with Alex Antic’s backing * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Liberal party’s moderate wing is set to…

Moderate Liberals losing ground as hard-right faction looms large in Senate battle

Australia grants nearly 1,000 humanitarian visas in three months to those fleeing Israel-Hamas conflict Figures reveal number of beneficiaries of temporary three-year visa since it was introduced by Labor in October * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Almost 1,000 Palestinian and Israeli nationals have been offered temporary…

Australia grants nearly 1,000 humanitarian visas in three months to those fleeing Israel-Hamas conflict

From David Pope in CT