Australian Beef Industry ‘Extremely Disappointed’ after China Hits Imports with 55% Tariff

THE GUARDIAN: Levy on beef exceeding quotas to begin immediately as Beijing seeks to protect domestic industry

Australian beef producers said they were “extremely disappointed” after China announced a 55% tariff on imports that exceed quota levels in a move to protect a domestic cattle industry slowly emerging from oversupply.

China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday the total import quota for 2026 for Australia and other countries such as Brazil and the US covered under its new “safeguard measures” is 2.7m metric tons, roughly in line with the record 2.87m tons it imported overall in 2024.

The new annual quota levels are set below import levels for the first 11 months of 2025 for Australia as well as its top supplier, Brazil.

“The increase in the amount of imported beef has seriously damaged China’s domestic industry,” the ministry said in announcing the measure after an investigation launched last December.

The measure takes effect on 1 January for three years, with the total quota increasing annually. » | Martin Farrer and Dan Jervis-Bardy | Thursday, January 1, 2026

Suspect in Bondi Beach Massacre Is Charged With Murder and Terrorism

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Australian authorities said the 24-year-old man, who had been shot by the police, woke from a coma on Tuesday afternoon.

The surviving suspect in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, was charged on Wednesday with murder, terrorism and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, the police said.

The shooting at a beachside Hanukkah celebration on Sunday left 15 people dead, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor who was a grandfather of 11. Two gunmen, who the police said were father and son, were shot by officers; one died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital. The authorities said the men appeared to have been motivated by Islamic State-inspired antisemitism.

The younger suspect, 24, had been in a coma until Tuesday afternoon, according to Mal Lanyon, the police commissioner for the state of New South Wales. The suspect remains hospitalized under police guard, according to the police. He had a bail hearing through a video link on Wednesday and no bail was requested, according to a charge sheet from the court.

The man, identified in the charge sheet as Naveed Akram, faces 59 charges in all, including displaying a symbol of a terrorist organization and placing explosives with the intent to cause harm. Officials previously said that two black Islamic State flags and improvised explosive devices had been found in the vehicle that the gunmen drove to the site of the shooting. » | Victoria Kim and Yan Zhuang | Reporting from Sydney, Australia | Wednesday, December 17, 2025

How Tobacco Prohibition Plunged Australia into Gang Wars

Dec 15, 2025 | Will Kingston, Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater discuss the firebombings of tobacconists in Australia.

Bondi Beach Mass Shooting: 10 People Killed after Gunshots Fired at Sydney Park Hosting Jewish Festival

THE GUARDIAN: Police say one alleged shooter dead, with second arrested and in a critical condition. Eighteen others taken to multiple hospitals across Sydney

Ten people have died, including one alleged gunman, following a mass shooting at Bondi beach during which more than a dozen gunshots were fired in the area.

New South Wales police confirmed on Sunday evening that nine people and one person suspected to be a gunman had died.

There was a Jewish festival at the beach on Sunday evening, and the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said: “I think this was very deliberate and very targeted.”

In a statement on Sunday evening, NSW police said officers were first called to Campbell Parade at about 6.45pm, responding to reports of shots being fired.

They confirmed the dead included a man believed to be one of two gunmen, with the second alleged shooter in a critical condition. They said two police officers were among at least 11 other people injured. » | Penry Buckley | Sunday, December 14, 2025

Bondi Beach Is One of Australia’s Most Famous Destinations »

En français :

Fusillade à Bondi Beach, en Australie: le président israélien condamne une «attaque cruelle contre des Juifs» : Après les tirs qui ont fait au moins dix morts sur une plage de Sydney, Isaac Herzog a condamné une attaque «cruelle» contre des Juifs qui célébraient Hanouka et a demandé à l’Australie de lutter davantage contre l’antisémitisme. »

Auf Deutsch:

Schüsse auf Juden am Bondi Beach in Sydney: Mindestens zwölf Tote, Dutzende Verletzte: Zwei Attentäter haben am weltberühmten Bondi Beach das Feuer auf Hunderte Menschen bei einer Chanukka-Feier eröffnet. Mindestens zwölf Menschen sind dabei ums Leben gekommen. »

US Republicans Warn France, UK, Canada, Australia over Decision to Recognise Palestinian State

Sep 21, 2025 | A group of US Republicans has sent a letter to France, Canada, the UK and Australia, urging them to re-consider their decision to recognise a Palestinian state. It's warning there may be consequences if the countries move ahead with plan at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

Canada, Australia and UK Announced Official Recognition of Palestinian Statehood

Sep 21, 2025 | Canada, Australia and the UK have just announced they are recognising a Palestinian state. The declarations come ahead of a formal declaration at the UN General assembly in New York.

Several other Western nations, including France, have announced similar plans, as international calls grow for the implementation of a two-state solution.

Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego is monitoring developments from London.


Le Royaume-Uni devrait reconnaître l'État palestinien aujourd’hui : KeirStarmer avait déclaré que cette mesure contribuerait à un véritable processus de paix. En réponse, le premier ministre israélien Benyamin Netanyahou l’a accusé de récompenser le «terrorisme monstrueux». »

Iran Directed Arson Attacks in Australia and ‘Fanned the Flames’ of Antisemitism, Country’s Spy Chief Says

THE GUARDIAN: Iranian ambassador expelled from Canberra as Albanese government announces it will list IRGC as terrorist organisation

The Iranian government “lit the matches and fanned the flames” of antisemitism in Australia, directing at least two arson attacks in the last year – on a Melbourne synagogue and a Sydney Jewish restaurant – Australia’s spy chief has said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tehran’s paramilitary defenders of the 1979 revolution, will be proscribed by Australia as a terrorist organisation.

As Australia’s prime minister announced his government had expelled the Iranian ambassador, on Tuesday local time, the head of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (Asio), Mike Burgess, said Tehran was “likely” behind even more antisemitic attacks across the country.

Iranian diplomats posted to Australia were not involved, Burgess said. » | Ben Doherty | Tuesday, August 25, 2025

Tens of Thousands of People March across Sydney to Demand an End to Israel's War on Gaza

Aug 3, 2025 | Tens of thousands of people in Sydney are holding a protest against Israel's war on Gaza.

The crowds will march across Sydney Harbour Bridge, which will be closed for about five hours. Organisers are demanding all humanitarian aid to be immediately allowed into Gaza, and for the Israeli military to withdraw from the Strip.

New South Wales police promised a heavy presence ahead of the demonstration, after previous attempts to stop it from taking place.

Al Jazeera’s Sarah Clarke has more from the demonstration in Sydney, Australia.

Investigating the Rise of Early-onset Cancer | Four Corners Documentary

Australians in their 30s and 40s are facing an alarming surge in cancer diagnoses and researchers are scrambling to understand why.

From bowel and breast to liver and kidney, aggressive cancers are hitting younger people; they’re often detected late, with devastating outcomes.

Dr Norman Swan investigates what’s behind the change.

Could it be ultra-processed foods, stress, or exposures dating back to childhood, even pregnancy?

He meets those grappling with a diagnosis and searching for answers.

Generation Cancer asks what can be done to curb the rise, and are we ready?
It's a wake-up call for a generation — and health services — blindsided by this increase.

This story was originally broadcast as Generation Cancer on 7 July 2025.

Smokers Turn to Black Market because Quitting Products Too Expensive | The Business | ABC NEWS

Jul 21, 2025 | The consumption of illicit tobacco is growing, as more tobacconists pop up across the country, and revenue is lost from the legal excise. It's causing debate between politicians as experts warn Australia needs to crack down on the trade. In 2023, it was estimated that illegal tobacco consumption may account for close to 30 per cent of the total tobacco market in Australia, although these estimates by the legal tobacco industry are disputed. And despite sectors of government agreeing Australia has a problem with the illegal trade, there's mixed messaging about how to tackle the problem. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ruled out lowering the tax excise on cigarettes, which will rise again in September, while NSW Premier Chris Minns has a different view and thinks the tax should be reduced. University of Sydney public health professor Becky Freeman says if the government was to lower the tobacco excise, it would send the wrong message. Instead, she thinks the number of outlets that sell tobacco products should be reduced.

As of July 1, NSW and Victoria introduced tobacco licensing laws, giving businesses until October and February respectively to apply for a licence to sell cigarettes. Experts say more needs to done to tackle the growing trade.


Australian politicians are as short-sighted and clueless as European politicians! Can’t they see the damage they are doing to people’s health by encouraging them to smoke black market cigarettes and tobacco because of cost? The quality of the tobacco on the black market is unregulated and the long-term health consequences of smoking it is likely to be be far worse than if they were able to afford to smoke government-regulated, quality-controlled tobacco and cigarettes manufactured at home. Moreover, the more expensive governments make tobacco products, the more likely people are to find alternative sources of enjoyment and pleasure. And that is precisely what is happening nowadays here in the West.

The best way to bring down smoking rates without causing resentment and distortions in the market is through information of the health dangers associated with smoking tobacco, not through extortionate taxation and government coercion. In any case, people do far worse things than enjoy the smoking of a cigarette.

We don’t live in utopia; rather, we live in the real world. And in the real world, people do all sorts of things, and consume all sorts of products, which are not conducive to perfect health. As Margaret Thatcher said: “The desire to achieve grand utopian plans often poses a grave threat to freedom.” – © Mark Alexander

Surging Cancer Rates in Young Australians Alarm Doctors | ABC NEWS

Jul 7, 2025 | Australians in their 30s and 40s are facing unprecedented rates of at least 10 types of cancer, according to data provided to Four Corners by Cancer Australia.

Between the years 2000 and 2024, early onset prostate cancer increased by 500 per cent, pancreatic cancer by 200 per cent, liver cancer by 150 per cent, uterine cancer by 138 per cent and kidney cancer by 85 per cent.

Australian Actor Julian McMahon Dies Aged 56 | ABC NEWS

Jul 5, 2025 | Australian actor Julian McMahon has died aged 56 after a "valiant effort to overcome cancer". Journalist Andrew Hornery discusses Julian McMahon’s “successful career” who was best known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed and the Fantastic Four.

A Gay Farmer on Love, Isolation, and Disrupting the Meat Industry in Australia | The New Yorker | Reupload

Jun 9, 2021 | In “Alone Out Here,” by Philip Busfield and Luke Cornish, an Australian rancher who is openly gay in a conservative industry fights to reduce carbon emissions through his cattle farming.

'Sad Reality': Football Star Josh Cavallo Says He Gets Daily Death Threats for Being Gay | ABC NEWS

Mar 18, 2025 | Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo, who came out as gay in 2021, tells News Breakfast he still receives "multiple" death threats every day.

Malcolm Turnbull Reacts to Donald Trump's Personal Attack | 7.30

Mar 10, 2025 | US President Donald Trump took to his preferred social media platform Truth Social to criticise former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The President said Mr Turnbull never understood what was going on in China and was "a weak and ineffective leader". The post was provoked apparently by Mr Turnbull saying Donald Trump's decisions and behaviour since taking office have benefited China's Xi Jinping.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to Sarah Ferguson.

Trump Bigger Threat to World Peace than Putin or Xi Jinping | Dr Emma Shortis on Sky News

Mar 4, 2025

Malcolm Turnbull Says Trump's Comments on Zelenskyy 'Predictable' | ABC NEWS

Feb 20, 2025 | The former prime minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull says Donald Trump appears to be facillitating a victory for Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.

How Neo-Nazis Are Recruiting Australian Kids | ABC News Daily

Feb 16, 2025 | Emily’s son loved sport, animals, reading and music, but when he turned 16, everything changed. He started to get obsessed by politics and thought the country was headed in the wrong direction. It wasn’t until his mother saw a photo of her son on the news that she realised he’d joined a neo-Nazi group.

Emily hopes a deradicalisation program will keep her son safe from extremists, but there’s concern about the availability and quality of the services.

Today, Four Corners reporter Avani Dias on Emily’s case and a rise in extremism among young Australians.

Featured: Avani Dias, Four Corners reporter

Australian Leader Sends Brutal Message to Trump in Floor Speech

Feb 8, 2025 | Francis Maxwell reports on an Australian politician delivering a wake up call to Donald Trump–and the world.

Australia – Neo-Nazi Issues Chilling Warning to Authorities | 7.30

Nov 13, 2025 | Last week a member of Australia's biggest far-right group, the National Socialist Network, was convicted of performing a Nazi salute.

7.30 can reveal a concerning escalation in rhetoric from leaders in the movement, who have made statements targeting the judiciary and police.

7.30’s Mike Lorigan reports with David Estcourt and Alysia Thomas-Sam.


Warning: This story contains distressing themes.