Australian director Jennifer Kent has defended her new film The Nightingale following criticism about its graphic scenes of rape and murder. The film tells the story of a convict woman seeking revenge amid colonial violence in 19th Century Tasmania. Its depictions of rape prompted some viewers to walk out of screenings in Sydney on Monday, […]

“People have a sense of ownership when they come here,” says Les McDonald. “A sense that it is a place for them to learn about themselves and their history.” McDonald is talking about The Bookshop, the business he and Wayne Harrison opened in Sydney, Australia, in 1982, two years before New South Wales decriminalised sex […]

SYDNEY, Australia — An Australian electrician who tested rockets and propellants on his farm and sent his findings to the Islamic State through an encrypted app was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday by a court in Australia. Haisem Zahab, 44, pleaded guilty last year to knowingly providing support or resources to a […]

Australian authorities say they have not decided whether they will prosecute journalists at the centre of controversial police raids. Broadcasters and rights groups have condemned searches by police at the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) and a News Corp reporter’s home this week. They have criticised the seizures of documents as attacks on press freedom. News […]

SYDNEY, Australia — One journalist is being investigated for reporting that several boats filled with asylum seekers recently tried to reach Australia from Sri Lanka. Another reporter had her home raided by the authorities this week after reporting on a government plan to expand surveillance powers. Then on Wednesday, the Australian federal police showed up […]

On Friday, Australia had its worst mass shooting since the nation overhauled its gun control laws more than 20 years ago. The suspected murder-suicide of a family of seven in Western Australia has inevitably revived discussion of the laws, often described as among the strongest in the world. Brought in following a 1996 massacre in […]

At least four people have been shot dead by a gunman in Darwin, northern Australia, police say. Eyewitnesses said the gunman entered a motel in an inner suburb of the city and opened fire in a number of rooms before fleeing. Police responded at about 18:00 local time (08:30 GMT) and arrested the man an […]

Australian police have raided the home of a journalist who reported that the government was considering a secret plan to spy on its citizens. The Australian Federal Police said it had executed a search warrant as part of an investigation into the alleged leaking of classified information. News Corp Australia condemned the search of Annika […]

Australia’s main political parties and parliament were hit by a “malicious intrusion” on their computer networks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The cyber-attack revealed two weeks ago was carried out by a “sophisticated state actor”, he said. But he added there was “no evidence of any electoral interference”. The nation will hold an election within […]

SYDNEY, Australia — Lightning Ridge is a town about 450 miles inland from Australia’s eastern coast, yet as he mined for opal there 35 years ago, Bob Foster would find remnants of fish bones and mussels. Forty feet below the surface, where water might have flowed some 100 million years ago, animals died and their […]