Worshippers prepare to start using first completed building and hope to host formal opening in early 2026 * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast On a bush block on the industrial outskirts of Bendigo, a minaret rises from the facade of a mosque. There are no fences, making the site of the central Victorian city’s first mosque visible from adjacent roads. This is no accident. Sameer Syed, who has been involved in the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre’s inception from its start, says the vision was an “open mosque”. Continue reading...

Laws being introduced to state parliament will allow fines up to $165,000 a year in prison, or both for owners of commercial premises * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Landlords who knowingly allow their tenants to sell illicit tobacco and illegal vapes could be fined up to $165,000, sentenced to up to a year in prison or both, under legislation planned by the New South Wales government. The changes, expected to be introduced to state parliament this week, would create an offence for commercial landlords who do not notify authorities or take steps to evict a tenant running illicit tobacco and vaping businesses from their premises. Continue reading...

It contains a stain-remover pen, silent fidget toy and a few Band-Aids, and Matilda Boseley never leaves home without it * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email I’ve spent a lot of this year trying to perfect the art of leaving the house. This might sound like an odd mission until you’ve seen me spend 25 minutes getting distracted while looking for my wallet and sunnies, doubling back to grab my laptop, tripling back for my work pass, missing my train, arriving at my destination with 1% battery and only then realising the medication I was meant to take that morning is still sitting on the counter. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

When a product isn’t delivered within its timeframe, the retailer must provide a solution, Australian policy expert Kat George writes. But there are steps you can take with the courier too * Read more Australian customer service questions * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email I often shop online and notice some courier companies create persistent problems for me. These include: couriers claiming to have attempted delivery on days when I have been working from home and know they didn’t bother to buzz my apartment; couriers failing to leave notice of attempted deliveries; lost packages; and in one instance, giving me conflicting information about the need to pay import duties, resulting in a time sensitive delivery being delayed. Trying to resolve these problems often takes multiple phone calls and a lot of waiting on hold. The shipping and courier companies always pass the buck back to the retailer when something goes wrong. This doesn’t seem fair since it’s the courier, not the retailer, who is at fault. Beyond complaining to the retailer, is there any way to hold a shipping company to account for their terrible customer service? Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

Infrastructure Victoria’s 45 final recommendations aim to lessen the effects of global heating and population growth * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Victorian government should ramp up train services in Melbourne’s north and west, extend eight tram routes and create six new express bus services within the next five years, the state’s independent infrastructure adviser has recommended. Infrastructure Victoria’s 30-year plan also calls for off-peak public transport to be made cheaper and for collaboration with the commonwealth to introduce a road user charge, after a previous state levy on electric vehicles was ruled unconstitutional by the high court. Continue reading...

As the Liberal party prepares to take a position on the contentious climate target, the risk of resignations doesn’t just rest on one outcome * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Sussan Ley has been already been required to reshuffle her shadow ministry twice in her six short months as Liberal party leader. The first was to replace Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, whose refusal to apologise for incorrect and offensive claims about Indian migrants, or back Ley’s leadership, made her frontbench position untenable. Continue reading...

Remembrance is a conscious act – political, cultural and personal. Today it is worth reflecting on who and what we commemorate, and what we choose to omit The first to publicly commemorate the people who fight wars are always those who send them to die. So it will be again today, the anniversary of the end of the first world war, when the politicians eulogise the countless people who’ve died horribly on battlefields, the oceans and in the skies. Paul Daley is a Guardian Australia columnist Continue reading...

* Gina Rinehart’s mining company ends 12-year association with VA * Adelaide hosts elite beach volleyball competition from 14 November Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting remains committed to funding elite athletes despite ending a 12-year association with Volleyball Australia, an organisation which had made her patron and thanked her for “unwavering support” as recently as last year. Although it now faces a financial hit, Volleyball Australia (VA) expressed gratitude on Monday for payments by Rinehart’s company reportedly worth around $5m over the past decade. Continue reading...

Albanese says ‘old suffocating conservatism’ of Menzies era reached out of its political grave to remove a government chosen by voters * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Gough Whitlam’s dismissal was not a constitutional crisis but “a calculated plot” to remove a democratically elected government via partisan ambush, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says. Reflecting ahead of Tuesday’s 50th anniversary of governor general Sir John Kerr’s move to dismiss the Labor government on 11 November 1975, Albanese has used a speech at Old Parliament House to lash the then opposition leader, Malcolm Fraser, accusing the Coalition of forming government without any “legitimate pretext”. Continue reading...

‘It is time to leave shit behind,’ Parton says after weeks of turmoil in the territory’s opposition * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A former commercial radio host and race-caller has been elected the new leader of the ACT Liberal opposition after a dramatic day in territory politics. Mark Parton was elevated to the role at a party-room meeting on Monday after former leader Leanne Castley and deputy Jeremy Hanson abruptly quit their positions. Continue reading...

Greg Piper says one of his staffers told him about the protest and his request to move it away from the building was rejected The New South Wales speaker says he knew about Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside parliament the day before it took place, but was told his request to relocate the protest from the front of the building was not possible. Greg Piper, the house speaker in NSW’s Legislative Assembly, told Guardian Australia a member of his staff advised him about the planned rally late on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

Rallies, organised by anti-lockdown protester Monica Smit and others, are set to go ahead in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane at the end of November * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Liberal Jacinta Nampijinpa Price backed out as the headlining speaker at an upcoming anti-immigration protest spanning several of Australia’s cities that was inspired by rightwing protests in the UK in September. The Northern Territory senator announced shortly before midday on Friday she was “honoured” to join the rally against “mass immigration” and net zero. Less than 24 hours later, and after Guardian Australia contacted Nampijinpa Price’s office with questions, her announcement was wiped from social media. Continue reading...

No sooking! If you wanted an apartment with a pool(s) you should have been a banking executive or some such * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

Allegra Spender and Kellie Sloane report threats to police, as premier says government is investigating whether ban on Nazi symbols should be expanded Two female MPs have reported threats they received following their condemnation of Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside New South Wales parliament to the police, as the premier rejected any suggestion there was a “double standard” in how the far right is dealt with compared with pro-Palestine activism. The alleged threats against federal MP Allegra Spender and state MP Kellie Sloane, which included death threats and calls to “rhetorically rape” the federal MP, came after both took to social media to condemn Saturday’s rally, in which about 60 men clad in black called for the abolition of the “Jewish lobby”, with speakers repeating antisemitic tropes. Continue reading...

* AFL backs decision to introduce new round from next season * ‘Our fans love finals games,’ says CEO Andrew Dillon The AFL has defended its decision to expand the finals series to 10 clubs with the introduction of a divisive “wildcard round” from next season. The two additional matches will be held during the weekend that has been used for a pre-finals bye in the men’s competition while the AFLW will lose the clear air it has been given for early-round fixtures over the past three seasons. Continue reading...

* Coach Tony Popovic ‘open-minded’ about uncapped youngster * 18-year-old full-back is yet to play a competitive senior match Tony Popovic has declared teenage Manchester United sensation James Overy a chance to make the Socceroos’ World Cup squad next year, even though he is yet to play a competitive senior match. The highly-touted full-back only turned 18 on Sunday but is now training regularly with the Premier League club’s first team. Continue reading...

* MCC member banned for abusive behaviour during 2023 series * Incident in Long Room led to steps being taken to control cricket fans An English cricket fan’s life ban following an incident involving Australia players during the Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2023 may be overturned, despite the hefty sanction that was initially handed out for his “completely unacceptable” behaviour in the Long Room. The MCC immediately suspended three members on the day of the incident, after the behaviour – which followed the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow at a crucial time during the match – was caught on camera and called out by Pat Cummins after the match. Continue reading...

With initial consults now costing hundreds of dollars, we must embrace a national plan to boost targeted training, cover gaps and curb excessive charges A referral to a specialist doctor can be scary; you might be worried about getting a new diagnosis or hearing that your condition has gotten worse. But many Australians have an additional worry: whether they can afford the fee. Fees have surged, and they’re not slowing down. They’ve risen by 78% since 2010 on top of inflation. An initial consultation now often costs hundreds of dollars. Continue reading...

State government says expanded use of shark nets and drum lines will continue despite evidence of deadly impact on other marine life * Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets. But while drones would become a “permanent fixture” of the state’s shark-control operations, the Department of Primary Industries said Queensland would continue to rely on “traditional measures like nets and drum lines”, despite evidence of their deadly impact on dolphins, whales, turtles and dugongs. Continue reading...

Growers are reporting a difficult apple season, which is having a knock-on effect for local tourism * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast At this time of year, Pine Crest Orchard in the Blue Mountains town of Bilpin would usually have about 1,000 visitors a day picking their own fruit from trees laden with apples. But this season, the trees are mostly bare – and no one really knows why. Continue reading...

Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung elder says the claim would allow First Nations people to work with government to ‘look after that country’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Traditional owners have filed a native title claim over Melbourne and surrounding regions. The claim by the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people covers thousands of square kilometres, from the mouth of the Werribee River north to its headwater in the Great Dividing Range, east to Mount Baw Baw, south through Bunyip and west to Mordialloc Creek. Continue reading...

Consumer advocates raise significant concerns as union says contractors use lower-paid staff to boost profit * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Australian Taxation Office has outsourced thousands of call centre roles to private operators that pay workers significantly less than public servants and use call targets that can leave vulnerable taxpayers exposed, Guardian Australia can reveal. The call centre contracts are shared between US private equity-owned Probe Operations, the Nasdaq-listed Concentrix Services and British multinational Serco and are collectively worth $316.5m, according to analysis of government tenders. Continue reading...

Research which polled a representative sample of 2,000 people also found over a third of Coalition voters believed the climate would not change at all * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast About 40% of Australian women without kids say they are hesitant to have children because of climate change, a new survey suggests. The survey, on attitudes about the impacts of global heating, also found that half of Australians were very or extremely concerned about climate change and two in five believed the climate would be “much hotter” in 2050. Continue reading...

Out-of-pocket costs are increasing faster than inflation and population growth – but increasing Medicare rebates might not be a magic bullet * What are my rights when I need to see a specialist doctor – and what if I can’t afford the fee? In June, Veronica* received an email from the Perth practice where her son sees a paediatrician to manage his ADHD. It said an adjustment to their service fees meant the cost of a one-hour appointment would rise to $1,000. She had to reread it. A 36% rise in fees? Continue reading...

Did you know you can ask your GP for an indefinite referral – so you don’t need a new one every year? Or ask to be sent for free to a public hospital clinic? Here are ways to keep costs down * $1,000 for a one-hour appointment: why are fees for Australia’s specialist doctors skyrocketing? Guardian Australia readers have described facing prohibitive costs, along with limited access, when trying to see medical specialists. Even GPs say referring to other specialists can be difficult to navigate, so it’s little wonder patients are confused about how to access affordable care. The Consumers Health Forum and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners say gaps in understanding of the health system contribute to Australians missing out on care or paying too much for it. They have called for greater health literacy, especially around Medicare. $1,000 for a one-hour appointment: why are fees for Australia’s specialist doctors skyrocketing? Continue reading...