'We have got to get this right': Liberal MP warns broad support needed for Indigenous referendum

A key Coalition proponent of constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians has warned that strong bipartisan support will be crucial for a successful referendum and rushing the process could risk a Brexit-like outcome. Julian Leeser, a Liberal MP and co-chair of Parliament's constitutional recognition committee, said it would be premature to stake out political positions before…

Morrison's new economic worry: Reserve Bank running out of bullets

Scott Morrison got the government re-elected on the back of a budget built on an illusion: that the economy was growing strongly and would go on doing so for a decade. The illusion allowed Morrison to boast about getting the budget back into surplus and keeping it there, despite promising the most expensive tax cuts…

'Just lock your door when you're asleep': Female uni students pressured to perform sexual acts

Female university students were pressured into giving lap dances, sharing intimate details of their sexual experiences, and being "slapped on the ass by everybody" as they ran past a group of men before entering a party as part of college hazing at the University of New England. The hazing was documented in a report on…

Australian sailor sentenced to eight years for honeymoon death

Miami: An Australian man whose wife disappeared while they honeymooned at sea has been sentenced to eight years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Lewis Bennett, 42, apologised to the family of Isabella Hellman during a hearing before US District Judge Federico Moreno in Miami on Tuesday. He waived his right to appeal. Bennett was originally…

'I'm a very powerful shaman': Accused killer had been banned from restaurant

Accused killer Henry Hammond was banned from a Thornbury restaurant where he volunteered because he frightened the customers. Lentil as Anything manager Dayle Lee Jones said Mr Hammond was living in a van beside the restaurant car park and had come to believe he was the Norse god Odin. She was forced to bar him…

Overburdened psychiatrists abandon 'broken' public system

Australia’s public psychiatric system is in slow and painful decline, with “profoundly disillusioned” psychiatrists leaving for private practice, senior specialists warn. The “psychiatric breakdown of the public system” is driving away overburdened psychiatrists who were dedicated to treating some of the most vulnerable mentally ill patients, UNSW Scientia Professor Gordon Parker says. Click Here: The…

Great Scots: $29 million school library could disrupt harbour views

The fate of a $29 million plan to build a library resembling a Scottish castle at a private boys' school in Sydney's east will be decided by an independent panel, after residents complained the project would worsen traffic woes and encroach on harbour views. Amid debate about the extent of taxpayer funding for private schools,…

Choccies for $58,825: Court lists woman's $35m Harrods shopping spree

Court documents made public in London this week reveal that a woman suspected by British authorities of having ill-gotten wealth spent £600,000  ($1.10 million) in one day at upmarket department store Harrods and once forked out £30,000 ($58,825) on chocolates. Zamira Hajiyeva is the first person subject to an Unexplained Wealth Order, which allows British…