Latest Australia government News

Heading to Asia, Blinken aims to shore up Indo-Pacific ties and stress US commitment to the region

Jul. 22, 2024 13:34 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ignoring the political chaos surrounding President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Asia this week on a long-planned eight-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners but with the...

Five people survive after a helicopter crashes in Bali

Jul. 19, 2024 07:06 AM EDT

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Two Australian and three Indonesian nationals survived after a tourist helicopter crashed in Bali, due to being entangled in a kite string, officials said Friday. The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopter, owned by PT. Whitesky Aviation, came down in Pecatu...

Australian army private and her husband accused of spying for Russia

Jul. 12, 2024 06:10 AM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian army private and her husband accused of spying for Russia were denied bail Friday, on the first charges against suspected operatives under Australia’s sweeping espionage laws enacted in 2018. Kira Korolev, 40, and her husband Igor...

Views toward China diverge between rich and middle-income nations, Pew report shows

Jul. 09, 2024 18:32 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global views toward China appear to be divided between high-income and middle-income countries, and the gap apparently is the widest among China's neighbors in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a newly released poll from the Pew Research Center that surveyed people in 35...

Australia appoints special envoy to confront a rise in antisemitism across the country

Jul. 09, 2024 03:34 AM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government named a special envoy Tuesday to confront a rise in antisemitism across the country since the Israel-Hamas war began. A similar envoy will soon be appointed to challenge Islamophobia in Australia and both will promote social...

Australia appoints second woman governor-general in 123 years to represent British monarch

Jul. 01, 2024 07:28 AM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia appointed Sam Mostyn on Monday as only its second woman governor-general, a largely ceremonial role representing the British monarch who is the nation’s head of state. It is the first such Australian appointment since the reign of King...

Things to know about how Julian Assange and US prosecutors arrived at a plea deal to end his case

Jun. 29, 2024 00:15 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in Australia as a free man, having resolved through a plea deal a U.S. Justice Department case charging him with obtaining and publishing government secrets on his secret-spilling website. It was a stunning resolution to a...

Julian Assange is now free to do or say whatever he likes. What does his future hold?

Jun. 27, 2024 12:16 PM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — He has run for office, published hundreds of thousands of leaked government documents online, and once lobbied to save his local swimming pool. One of the most polarizing and influential figures of the information age, Julian Assange is now free after five years in...

Stella Assange thanks Australian lawmakers for WikiLeaks founder's freedom

Jun. 27, 2024 12:14 PM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Stella Assange thanked the spectrum of lawmakers who campaigned for her husband, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, to be freed during her visit Thursday to Australia’s Parliament House, where political leaders differed over how welcome the convicted felon was in his...

Australian leaders cautiously welcome expected plea that could bring WikiLeaks founder Assange home

Jun. 27, 2024 00:30 AM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian leaders cautiously welcomed an expected plea agreement that could set free Julian Assange, who was pursued for years over WikiLeaks' publication of a trove of classified documents. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday there was...