The Independent - Australasia RSS Feed

H2-WHOA! Australian town votes to ban sales of bottled water

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

A rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and residents' wallets has voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country – and possibly the world – to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.

China accuses Rio staff of bribery

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:24:20 GMT

Chinese security officials accused four detained staff of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd of bribery on Friday as Australia sought to avert a diplomatic row centred on the massive iron ore trade.

Jury finds banjo killer guilty of manslaughter

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:12:44 GMT

A tourist who killed a man with a banjo after he received unwanted sexual advances has been found guilty of manslaughter in New Zealand.

Australian town bans bottled water

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:05:08 GMT

An Australian town has banned bottled water, claiming to be the first in the country to revert to the tap for the sake of the environment and prompting the nation's largest state government to stop buying bottled water.

Terror for passengers as propellor falls from plane

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:12:34 GMT

Passengers on a Great Barrier Airlines flight watched in horror as a propeller came off in mid-air, smashing a window on their aircraft and ripping a door off.

Climbers may be barred from Uluru

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:22:05 GMT

An Australian government proposal to stop people from climbing the famed Uluru, in deference to the wishes of indigenous people, sparked debate today with lawmakers opposing the plan.

Australia's Miss Havisham: the jilted lover who spent her dying days in a cave

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

An Australian woman who disappeared 40 years ago and whose remains were found in a remote cave 12 years later has been identified this week as a tragic Miss Havisham figure who had been jilted by her lover.

The wombat: back from the brink

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

One of the world's most endangered mammals, the northern hairy-nosed wombat, has stepped back from the brink of extinction, with its numbers undergoing the biggest jump for more than two decades.

Britons 'among victims of credit card scam'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:29:12 GMT

Australian authorities have uncovered a six million Australian dollar (4.8 million US dollar) international credit card scam that used stolen personal information from people as far away as Britain and Spain, officials said.

Actor left to ask: 'Where's the money, Skip?' after court case

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

An actor who starred in the iconic 1960s Australian television show Skippy has lost a legal battle for a share of the millions of dollars it has generated in the past 40 years.

'Stoned' wallabies make crop circles

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Wallabies snacking in legally grown opium poppy fields are getting "high as a kite" and hopping around in circles, trampling the crops, officials in Tasmania say.

Crop circles, poppies - and tripping wallabies

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:01:22 GMT

Wallabies snacking in opium poppy fields are getting "high as a kite" and hopping around creating crop circles.

Police say Kevin Rudd email was forged

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:42:24 GMT

The Australian media are calling it “Utegate”, and the smoking gun was supposed to be an email seeking preferential treatment for a car dealer friend of the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

Rudd denies giving favours to car dealer

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Treasurer, Wayne Swan, are rejecting opposition calls to resign over their relationship with a car dealer which commentators say has created the 19-month-old government's biggest political crisis.

Now we can lose the Ashes twice

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

They were the first team to represent Australia overseas in any sport, a squad of Aboriginal cricketers who visited England in 1868, nine years before the first Ashes series established cricket's oldest rivalry. Now a team of young indigenous players are retracing their steps, with a tour that will honour the trailblazers and play at many of the same venues.

Australian PM challenges opposition over allegations

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:51:43 GMT

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today demanded opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull resign if he failed to produce an email at the heart of allegations that Rudd misled parliament.

Australian PM challenges opposition over allegation

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:51:43 GMT

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today demanded opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull resign if he failed to produce an email at the heart of allegations that Rudd misled parliament.

Australian PM says police will investigate car dealer claims

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:30:09 GMT

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Saturday said police had been called in over accusations he misled parliament and sought special government treatment for a car-dealer friend.

Girl, 2, thrown out of Australia's Senate

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:15:17 GMT

The ejection from Australia's Senate of a member's two-year-old daughter, who subsequently screamed in distress, ignited a national debate today about whether parents should take their children to work.

Fall of The Godmother: An Australian murder mystery

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Judy Moran was the archetypal gangland matriarch, blonde and glamorous, always immaculately turned out when grieving at her male relatives' funerals. Two husbands and two sons met violent deaths, and when her brother-in-law, Desmond "Tuppence" Moran, was shot dead in a Melbourne cafe this week, she was one of the first at the scene, wailing, "Dessy, Dessy".

Britons find paradise in New Zealand

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:16:27 GMT

New Zealand has been described as a "paradise" by British expats who moved here for a warmer climate and cheaper cost of living.

Makeover for Australia's iconic Vegemite

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:58:40 GMT

The iconic Australian vegetable spread Vegemite is getting a makeover.

Cautious change to Australia's 'national dish'

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:47:41 GMT

To millions of Australians who spread it on their toast every morning, Vegemite is virtually a national dish. So when the makers of the pungent brown paste decided to meddle with the ingredients, they exercised extreme caution.

Airbus forced to make emergency landing

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:53:16 GMT

An Airbus 330-200 like the one involved in the Air France disaster was forced to make an emergency landing on a Pacific island after a small fire broke out in the cockpit.

Obama finds Pacific solution for Gitmo detainees

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:26:40 GMT

The remote Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to a United States request to temporarily resettle up to 17 Chinese Muslims now held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre on Cuba.