Cardinal George Pell’s child sexual abuse conviction has rocked the Catholic Church, where for years he has been one of its highest-ranked officials. It has had the same effect in Australia, Pell’s home nation, where his career began decades ago. The cleric made his name as a determined figure who championed traditional Catholic values and […]

SYDNEY, Australia — In Australia, it’s not a question of if the shoe fits. It’s how much beer the shoe fits. The rapper Post Malone chugged Bud Light nightly from sneakers thrown onstage by fans throughout his Australian tour this month. The country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves sipped tequila daintily from a glass slipper in Melbourne […]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has secured a majority government, capping off a shock result in Saturday’s election. With 77.5% of votes counted, the Liberal-National coalition has now reached the 76 seats needed to control the lower house. The result has defied long-term polls that had predicted a Labor Party win for the first time […]

Former Australian cricketer Michael Slater has apologised after being removed from a flight for “disruptive” behaviour. Slater said he had been arguing with two friends on Sunday while boarding the Qantas flight from Sydney to Wagga Wagga, a town in New South Wales. The former cricketer, now a popular commentator, was asked to leave the […]

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison looked set to form a majority government as vote counting from the weekend election allayed any fears that his conservative coalition may have to rule in the minority. The coalition was returned to power in a stunning result on Saturday night, after opinion polls and odds-makers had tipped the opposition […]

An Australian man has unearthed a 1.4kg (49oz) gold nugget with a metal detector while wandering Western Australia’s gold fields, say locals. A shop in Kalgoorlie shared pictures of the rock online, estimated to be worth A$100,000 (£54,000; $69,000). The unidentified man was an experienced local hobbyist, shop owner Matt Cook, told the BBC. Finds […]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to get straight back to work after a shock general election victory, which delivered the country three more years of conservative government. The opposition Labour Party, meanwhile, began another bout of post-election soul searching while starting the task of finding a new leader, after Bill Shorten stood down […]

SYDNEY, Australia — The polls said this would be Australia’s climate change election, when voters confronted harsh reality and elected leaders who would tackle the problem. And in some districts, it was true: Tony Abbott, the former prime minister who stymied climate policy for years, lost to an independent who campaigned on the issue. A […]

Final results are being counted in Australia where Prime Minister Scott Morrison hopes his victory in Saturday’s election will give him a majority government. His conservative coalition has defied the polls and now needs to win three more seats to seal a shock majority. “I have always believed in miracles,” Mr Morrison told supporters in […]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has claimed an against-the-odds victory for his centre-right Coalition in the latest twist of his political career. Amid poor opinion polls, few had predicted that his government would be re-elected. But as results started to point towards a close majority, Mr Morrison told Liberal Party supporters that he had “always […]