The Pigeon Express
Australia cancelled the Belt and Road agreement signed by China, escalating trade and diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra. The state of Victoria signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Chinese government in October 2018, the only state government in Australia to sign up for Chinese President Xi […]
An Auckland airport worker has tested positive for Covid-19 a day after New Zealand opened a reciprocal travel bubble with Australia. The case appears to be unrelated to the travel bubble though, and flights with Australia have not been suspended. Thousands of passengers flew between the two nations on Monday for the first time in […]
A third Neighbours star, Sharon Johal, has spoken out about the racism she endured on the set of the popular Australian soap opera. The Australian actress, who has Indian heritage, left the show in March after four years as character Dipi Rebecchi. Johal said she had faced racist taunts from white castmates, and felt further […]
Tropical cyclone Seroja has ripped through a 1,000km stretch of Western Australia, leaving a trail of damage. The category three storm made landfall near the town of Kalbarri on Sunday with gusts of up to 170km/h. Residents reported smashed houses, fallen trees and downed power lines. Kalbarri resident Debbie Major said the storm, which hit […]
Australia is bracing for a rare twin tropical storm — Cyclone Seroja and a second Cyclone Odette. The twin systems are pivoting around each other, with Odette weakening but nearing the coast which is set to make landfall on Sunday evening. While, Seroja is expected to bring widespread impacts across the region Sunday evening local […]
An investigation was launched into the allegations of racism behind Australian TV soap Neighbours. Two Aboriginal-Australian TV stars have alleged they witnessed racist incidents while working on set. Shareena Clanton said it was “traumatising to work in such a culturally unsafe space”. Announcing the inquiry, Fremantle Media, which produces the soap, said it did not […]
Australian and New Zealand residents will be able to travel between the two nations without having to quarantine from 19 April. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move on Tuesday. New Zealand will bring in “green zone” conditions similar to those that its citizens face entering Australia. Passengers travelling to New Zealand will […]
Australian Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley and his brother Dru have been found guilty of trying to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of cocaine valued at more than $150 million into the country in 2018. Nathan Baggaley, who won two silver medals at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, and his brother had pleaded not guilty. But […]
A man was hit by what he described as the “angriest octopus” while swimming on holiday at a Western Australian beach. In a video that has gone viral, the octopus can be seen in shallow waters lashing out at geologist Lance Karlson. The creature came after him again later and struck him on the arm, before […]
Brisbane exited its snap three-day lockdown on Thursday after only one local Covid-19 case was reported in the previous day. The outbreak in Queensland’s capital has grown to 16 infections in total. State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the low number of new infections meant the lockdown could be lifted in time for the Easter holiday […]
Australia announced a snap 3-day COVID-19 lockdown in the northern city of Brisbane from Monday afternoon, as they attempt to stamp out an outbreak of the UK variant of the virus. About two million people in the city, the country’s third-largest and the capital of Queensland state, will be required to stay home from 5pm […]
Australia hit hardest by the worst floods in decades have finally experienced blue skies, but flood evacuation warnings are still being issued. Parts of New South Wales have seen almost 1m of rain, flooding hundreds of homes and severing roads. Despite the rains subsiding, water levels have not yet peaked in some areas, the Bureau […]