Eight people rescued after being trapped by heavy snow on Mt Hotham

Eight people have been rescued after becoming trapped in heavy snow near Mount Hotham with "terrible" conditions forecast to get worse. The alarm was raised following heavy snowfall on Monday afternoon. The four adults and four children, aged between six and 12, spent a chilly night in their vehicles on the Blue Rag Range Track…

Some wrongs can never be made right, but an Indigenous Voice is a start

Bravo Prime Minister Scott Morrison! How many of those very few who predicted his re-election also foresaw that he would announce shortly after that he is “committed” to constitutional recognition? Good. None of you. And yet for the Prime Minister it is brilliant politics. As he is all but solely being credited with the election…

Gas is no enemy of renewable energy, Shell boss tells conference

Gas, not coal, was the fossil fuel that would take the traditional energy industry into the future, a national industry conference has been told. The annual Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) conference is being held in Brisbane this week, with the result of the recent federal election front of many delegate’s minds. APPEA…

Israel may soon return to polls amid coalition crisis

Jerusalem: Israel's parliament on Monday passed a preliminary motion to dissolve itself. The move further pushed the country toward an unprecedented political impasse, less than two months after elections seemed to promise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a new mandate. If the bill receives final passage in a vote scheduled on Wednesday, Israel would be forced…

'Half-baked policies': Push for public input on contentious NSW laws

Contentious laws such as council mergers or the greyhound ban would be put to community focus groups to stop "half-baked policies" being rushed through NSW Parliament under a "revolutionary proposal" to be considered on Tuesday. One Nation MP Mark Latham will move a motion to overhaul law-making in the upper house following lobbying from former…

Pocock fighting to be fit for World Cup as he announces Super Rugby retirement

David Pocock's Super Rugby career is over effective immediately, the world's best openside flanker declaring: "It's time to finish in Australia, this is it". Pocock will announce his Australian domestic rugby retirement on Tuesday morning after it was decided to rule him out for the rest of the Super Rugby season. The 31-year-old, however, still…

'I've always been an activist': Jack's all right and he has plenty to say

When Uncle Jack Charles talks people listen. In part that’s because it can be hard to get a word in edgeways once the self-confessed “loudmouth” is in full flow. But mostly it’s because of the credibility that comes not only from the veteran Indigenous actor’s successful stage and screen career but also from his many…

Revealed: 'Coach Whisperer' inspires gung-ho Queensland coach Walters

When Kevin Walters threw decades of Queensland Origin tradition out the window by forgoing underdog status in favour of a bullish, ''expect to win'' mentality, it was a startling change in tack from the Maroons coach. Now his motivations have become clearer: Walters has been working with Bradley Charles Stubbs, the famed 'Coach Whisperer' who…