Oceania

Australian PM honours Queen Elizabeth with wreath-laying ceremony

SYDNEY, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Britain's Queen Elizabeth after a wreath-laying ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra on Saturday, saying Australians were…

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Australia passes a law for net zero emissions by 2050

MELBOURNE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Australia's parliament on Thursday passed government legislation enshrining a pledge to cut carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050, with…

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Australia grapples with rising living costs as rates touch seven-year high

SYDNEY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The Australian government on Wednesday unveiled measures to lower the cost of medicines and make the downsizing of homes cheaper for pensioners amid soaring inflation…

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Eastern Australia areas hit by March storms under severe weather warnings

SYDNEY, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Parts of eastern Australia were under severe weather and flood warnings, the country's weather forecaster said on Sunday, months after massive floods hit the country's…

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Australia raises migration target amid labour squeeze, global talent race

SYDNEY, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Australia on Friday increased its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 this financial year, up by 35,000, in a bid to help businesses and industries…

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Australians to train on British nuclear submarines for the first time

(Reuters) - Australian naval officers will be allowed to train inside British submarines for the first time as they prepare for the arrival of nuclear-powered submarines as part of a…

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Royal Australian Mint releases coin with secret code to mark cyber-spy agency’s 75th anniversary

On 1 September 2022, the Royal Australian Mint released a limited edition 50 cent commemorative coin to celebrate the Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) 75th anniversary. Fifty thousand coins have been…

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Australian police seize record $1.1 bln of crystal meth

SYDNEY, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Australian police said on Friday it had seized some A$1.6 billion ($1.1 billion) worth of crystal meth, also known as 'ice', concealed within marble stones…

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Former Australia PM ‘undermined’ responsible government with secret appointments -solicitor general

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's secret appointments to ministries during the COVID-19 pandemic "fundamentally undermined" responsible government despite being legally valid, according to advice from the solicitor general. The…

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Relative of New Zealand children found dead in suitcases believed to be in South Korea

SEOUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - A woman believed to be a family member of the two children whose remains were found in suitcases in New Zealand is in South Korea,…

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New Zealand to temporarily boost worker intake amid shortfall

Aug 21 (Reuters) - New Zealand will make temporary changes to immigration rules, a minister said on Sunday, aiming to lure 12,000 workers over the next year with a working…

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Australia’s Morrison says he secretly took five ministries because responsibility was his

SYDNEY, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australia's former prime minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday he decided to be secretly sworn in to five key ministries during the coronavirus pandemic because…

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Scientists hope to revive Tasmanian tiger from extinction

Researchers in Australia and the US are embarking on a multi-million dollar project to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction. The last known one, officially called a thylacine, died…

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Australia’s PM says predecessor ‘undermined democracy’ with secret roles

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor Scott Morrison had "undermined our democracy" by secretly appointing himself minister for home affairs and treasury during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition…

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Australia’s PM says former PM Morrison took on secret ministerial roles during COVID

SYDNEY, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sought legal advice following reports that his predecessor Scott Morrison was secretly appointed to key ministerial roles during the…

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NZ to deploy 120 troops to Britain to train Ukrainian troops

WELLINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - New Zealand is sending 120 military personnel to Britain to help train Ukrainians in front-line combat, the government said on Monday. The deployment will enable…

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Jacinda Ardern under pressure as approval rating slumps to record low

The approval rating for Jacinda Ardern’s government has plunged to its lowest level since her election victory, as New Zealand’s economy struggles to recover from her harsh pandemic restrictions. Amid…

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Australians kept shopping, but wallets may now be closing

SYDNEY, (Reuters) - Australian retail sales posted a solid rise in real terms last quarter even as swelling prices ate up more of the consumer dollar, though there are signs that higher borrowing costs…

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New Zealand industries struggle to find workers

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) - New Zealand video game developer PikPok found a solution to prolonged difficulty in finding experienced workers: Colombia. The company, which is behind such mobile game apps as Clusterduck and…

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Australia’s trade surplus jumps to record high

SYDNEY, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Australia's trade surplus climbed to a fresh record high in June thanks to strength in gold and iron ore exports that looks set to deliver a significant…

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Australian Comancheros motorcycle gang boss extradited from Turkey

The boss of one of Australia's biggest motorcycle gangs has been extradited from Turkey to face criminal charges in his home country. Mark Buddle - head of the Comancheros and…

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Australia PM says Indigenous voice details to follow referendum

SYDNEY, July 31 (Reuters) - Details for giving Australia's Indigenous people a voice in parliament will follow a national referendum on the question, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday. Albanese's centre-left…

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Australia makes monkeypox a disease of national significance

SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday the spread of monkeypox was now a "communicable disease incident of national significance" to allow for a more coordinated response, following…

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Australia’s COVID hospital admissions, deaths rise as variant surges

Hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Australia have reached a new high for a second straight day, data showed on Tuesday, while the daily death toll rose to its second-highest as…

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Australia battles fresh Omicron outbreak as COVID deaths rise

SYDNEY, July 21 (Reuters) - Australia reported one of its highest daily death tolls from the novel coronavirus on Thursday while hospital admissions hovered near record levels, as authorities struggle…

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New Zealand COVID-19 death rate at record levels

WELLINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - New Zealanders are dying from COVID-19 at record rates as the country battles a new wave of the Omicron strain that is particularly affecting the…

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New Zealand Navy deploys two ships to Pacific to aid region’s security

WELLINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - Two New Zealand naval ships are headed to the Pacific Islands next week on a three-month deployment to provide maritime security and other support for Pacific Island…

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Australia raises guard against foot and mouth disease after Indonesia cases

SYDNEY, July 20 (Reuters) - Australia on Wednesday said it has stepped up protection against foot and mouth disease at its international airports following an outbreak of the disease in Indonesia. Travellers…

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New Zealand launches new investor migrant visa

WELLINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said on Wednesday that it had created a new investor migrant visa to attract experienced, high-value investors to invest in domestic businesses. The…

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Australia reinstates COVID quarantine pay amid fresh Omicron wave

SYDNEY, July 16 (Reuters) - Australia will reinstate support payments for casual workers who have to quarantine due to COVID-19, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday, as a fresh wave of…

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Australia gov’t faces pressure to reinstate COVID quarantine pay amid fresh wave

SYDNEY, July 15 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a snap meeting of federal and state leaders next week as he faces pressure to reinstate compensation pay for casual…

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Cardinal George Pell sued by father of Australian choirboy

The father of a choirboy who prosecutors alleged was sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell has launched a lawsuit against the cleric and the Catholic Church. The man is seeking…

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Australia unemployment dives to 48-year low as jobs boom

SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - Australia's unemployment rate dived to a 48-year low in June as hiring outstripped all expectations, while record vacancies suggested the labour market was set to tighten yet further and perhaps justify even…

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Australia expands fourth COVID dose rollout amid fresh Omicron threat

SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday it would expand the rollout of the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines from next week as it battles a steady rise…

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Sydney residents assess flood damage as wild weather eases

SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - Heavy rain that pummelled Sydney over the last five days eased on Thursday as flood-weary residents looked to return to homes to take stock of the damage,…

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Rents rise at fastest rate in 14 years across Australia

Rents have risen at the fastest rate for 14 years as Australia’s landlords seek to recoup costs in the face of rising interest rates and higher inflation. According research firm…

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Qantas engineers vote on work stoppages as they seek higher pay

SYDNEY, July 6 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd's unionised licensed aircraft engineers are voting on work stoppages of up to 12 hours and overtime bans from next month after failing to reach a…

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Thousands more evacuate in Sydney even though heavy rains ease

SYDNEY, July 6 (Reuters) - A wild storm system that has pounded several parts of Sydney with torrential rain for four days has moved away from the city, satellite images showed on…

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Australia floods worsen as thousands more flee Sydney homes

SYDNEY, July 5 (Reuters) - Torrential rains kept battering Australia's east coast on Tuesday, intensifying the flood crisis in Sydney as thousands more residents were ordered to leave their homes after rivers…

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Photo Story: Ship stranded off the cliffs in south of Sydney, Australia

The Portland Bay cargo ship sits stranded approximately one kilometre off the cliffs the of Royal National Park, south of Sydney, Australia. A cargo ship is without power and stranded…

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More heavy rains set to drench Sydney as thousands evacuate

SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) - Fresh evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of Sydney residents on Monday after relentless rains flooded several suburbs in Australia's largest city, with officials warning…

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Australia’s Victoria state looks to wean households off gas

MELBOURNE, July 2 (Reuters) - Australia's Victoria government released a plan on Saturday aiming to wean the country's biggest gas-consuming state off the fossil fuel, halve carbon emissions by 2030 and drive…

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Australia job vacancies surge as firms struggle to find staff

SYDNEY, June 30 (Reuters) - Job vacancies in Australia surged to all-time highs in the May quarter as firms struggled to find staff amid a tightening labour market, another sign interest rates…

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Photo Story: Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours’ farewell

Cast members of TV show 'Neighbours' pose for a photograph at the Neighbours Studios in Melbourne, Australia, 29 June 2022. The Australian soap 'Neighbours' first aired in 1985 will ceases…

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Volt, Australia’s first online-only bank, shuts down due to fund-raising woes

June 29 (Reuters) - Volt Bank Ltd, the first exclusively online bank to gain an Australian banking licence, said it would shut down, returning deposits and selling its mortgage book as it…

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Australia power crisis forces manufacturers to eye offshore moves, production cuts

SYDNEY, June 20 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest building materials manufacturers are cutting back operations, hiking prices and considering moving production offshore to manage a spike in power and gas bills, adding to pressure on…

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Air New Zealand ramping up capacity as travel demand recovers

DOHA, June 20 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand Ltd expects to reach 75% of its pre-COVID-19 international capacity and more than 100% of pre-pandemic domestic capacity by the end of 2022, as travel…

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Australian power crisis eases as coal-fired plants crank up

MELBOURNE, June 17 (Reuters) - Blackout risks eased in eastern Australia on Friday as about a third of the coal-fired generation that had been offline in recent weeks returned to service, but…

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Australia PM to attend NATO summit

SYDNEY, June 17 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday said he would attend "an important" NATO meeting in Madrid at the end of the month as the…

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New Zealand economy contracts as exports slump

WELLINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand's economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter as a slump in exports swamped strong domestic spending, though analysts said it will dodge a recession as…

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Australian employment jumps 60,600 in May, jobless holds at 3.9%

SYDNEY, June 16 (Reuters) - Australian employment rebounded strongly in May while the jobless rate held at 50-year lows as more people went looking for work, an encouraging sign the economy can…

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Australians urged to save electricity to ease power crunch

Australia's energy minister urged households in Sydney to switch off lights in the evening to avert blackouts, as the country's power market remained suspended with more than a quarter of…

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Australia’s minimum wage to rise 5.2%

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's independent wage-setting body on Wednesday raised the national minimum wage by 5.2%, largely in line with inflation, as families tackle soaring living costs. The lowest-paid employees will receive…

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Australia edge Peru on penalties to claim World Cup spot

Australia's dancing substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne saved the last penalty to clinch a place at this year's World Cup in Qatar as they edged Peru 5-4 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw…

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Photo Story: OZ Comic-Con 2022 in Melbourne

A cosplayer poses for a photograph at the OZ Comic-Con 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. The event came to an end on Sunday 12 June. Via EPA-EFE/Joel Carrett

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New Zealand to price sheep and cow burps to cut greenhouse gases

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand this week released a draft plan to put a price on agricultural emissions in a bid to tackle one of the country's biggest sources of greenhouse gases,…

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Australia’s longest-running soap Neighbours calls it a wrap

SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - Neighbours, the Australian soap opera that launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce and all three Hemsworth brothers, shot its last episode on Friday,…

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