Australia will create a multi-billion dollar fund for Pacific island nations to build infrastructure, in an apparent attempt to counter China’s influence. Delivering a major policy speech, PM Scott Morrison said he aimed to restore the Pacific to the “front and centre” of Australia’s foreign outlook. Australia will offer up to A$2bn (£1.11bn; $1.45bn) in […]

An Australian woman says she feared for her life while being attacked by two dingoes at an Outback mine. Deb Rundle, 54, suffered wounds to her legs and other injuries during the mauling in Western Australia last week. The mine worker had been on a lunch break when a dingo took her phone, prompting her […]

A woman who randomly attacked two people with an axe in an Australian convenience store has been jailed. Evie Amati, 26, seriously wounded the man and woman at a 7-Eleven in Sydney in January 2017. She swung her axe at a third customer but did not injure him. Amati pleaded not guilty on mental health […]

A 21-year-old Israeli student was attacked and killed in Melbourne, Australia while speaking with her sister on the phone, police say. The body of Aiia Maasarwe, 21, was found near LaTrobe University in the city’s north. She had taken a tram home late on Wednesday after a comedy show. Her sister “heard the sound of […]

This week marks 20 years since a helicopter pilot flying over central Australia spotted the outline of a giant man drawn into the earth. The 4.2km (2.5 miles) tall figure, on a remote plateau in South Australia, is often thought to depict an Aboriginal hunter. Dubbed Marree Man after a nearby town, it is one […]

A video posted online by a New Zealand woman showing a group of tourists abusing locals after being asked to pick up their rubbish has gone viral. The group, who Auckland native Krista Curnow claimed to be Irish, became involved in a heated conversation with locals after noticing the mess the family were leaving behind […]

Australian actor Craig McLachlan has denied allegations of sexual misconduct made against him by three women. The accusations against McLachlan, 52, concern his time performing in a 2014 production of the Rocky Horror Show. Three cast members accused the former Neighbours actor of inappropriate touching and harassment. McLachlan stepped down from the Rocky Horror Show’s […]

Police in Australia are investigating suspicious packages sent to a wide range of embassies and consulates on Wednesday, which officials said included the US and British missions in Melbourne, but there were no reports of harm to staff. Domestic media reported more than a dozen foreign offices received the packages and that some staff said […]

Many drought-stricken regions in Australia have finally received much-needed rain in recent days. Parts of New South Wales (NSW) – a state declared to be 100% in drought – have enjoyed their best rainfalls in two years, according to meteorologists. But while the drenching has provided some relief, forecasters say it is nowhere near enough. […]

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau chief. Sign up to get it by email. ___ Extreme heat often sends me to art museums — thus my recent afternoon with the photographs of David Goldblatt at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. He was a master of capturing the cold […]