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Nov 4, 2026 - World

Report led by Peter Garrett and former defence chief Adm Chris Barrie says agreement should be suspended and calls for royal commissionGet our daily political email, free app or daily news podcastA public inquiry into the $368bn Aukus nuclear submarine agreement has called the plan “the worst, riskiest and most costly defence decision ever made by an Australian government”, urging its immediate termination.Former Labor MP and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, alongside former chief of defence Adm Chris Barrie, led the inquiry dominated by critics of the deal with the UK and US, recommending the suspension of plans for new bases and for a royal commission to be held into the agreement signed by the former Morrison government.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...

Nov 4, 2026 - World

South Africans are voting in local elections that test the African National Congress party, or ANC, which has seen declining support over the last decade

Nov 4, 2026 - World

Yothu Yindi’s Treaty, Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning and Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman are among the first songs to be honoured on new list that will grow every yearWarning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have diedMidnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning, Yothu Yindi’s Treaty and Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman are among the first 10 Australian songs to be inducted into the National Songbook – a new digital archive that celebrates and preserves songs that have shaped Australia’s national cultural identity.Launched on Wednesday night at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in Canberra, the songbook is a joint initiative between NFSA and the music rights organisation Apra Amcos. The first 10 songs were selected by a panel of 11 music experts including broadcasters Richard Kingsmill and Zan Rowe, composer Cornel Wilczek and musician Mo’Ju. Continue reading...

Nov 4, 2026 - World

Award-winning investigative journalist says she ‘probably’ texted an alleged victim’s mother saying ‘I hope the shit does hit the fan for him’, court hearsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastInvestigative journalist Kate McClymont has told a Sydney court that an audio recording in which she said new information would be “an absolute nail in the coffin” did not refer to “killing” Alan Jones.In a phone call with the mother of the youngest alleged victim of Jones, which was played in court, the Sydney Morning Herald’s chief investigative reporter expressed excitement when the woman said her son had spoken to police in the same year as the alleged assault. Continue reading...

Nov 4, 2026 - World

Exclusive: Schools minister launches new Ukrainian GCSE and says she is sorry students were pushed to study Russian in its absenceThe UK has apologised to Ukrainian child refugees who were told to study Russian in English schools, as it launched funding for a new GCSE in Ukrainian.Ukrainian children who were forced to seek refuge in the UK after Vladimir Putin’s invasion in 2022 say it was “insulting” that their teachers suggested they study Russian in the absence of a GCSE in Ukrainian. Continue reading...