A controversial new migration law rushed through federal parliament has sparked fierce political backlash after giving Australia’s Home Affairs Minister sweeping powers to stop groups of temporary visa holders from entering the country—even if they already hold valid visas. The Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Act 2026 passed both […]

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on his country, according to US President Donald Trump. Iran did not immediately confirm his death. As one of Iran’s longest-serving leaders, Khamenei has been almost as ubiquitous in Iranian society as his predecessor, […]

The decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to exclude Palestinian Australian author and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” is based on a dangerously broad and vague criterion for suppressing free speech. The board appears to have overruled Writer’s Week director Louise […]

Australia cannot end workplace sexual harassment unless governments and employers confront how racism, class, disability and insecure work compound discrimination, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody has warned in a powerful National Press Club address. “We still have a fairly limited, narrow understanding of sexual harassment… power gets used by […]

Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, has signed a joint statement demanding Israel complies […]

Earlier this month, the Federal Court found controversial Muslim cleric Wissam Haddad breached the Racial Discrimination Act. Justice Angus Stewart ruled a series of speeches Haddad posted online were “fundamentally racist and antisemitic [and] profoundly offensive” towards Jewish people in Australia. However, the court also ruled criticism of Israel, Zionism and the Israel Defense […]

The way racism manifests itself may have changed over time, but it remains a persistent problem in Australia. The 2024 Reconciliation Barometer found a significant increase in racism against First Nations people. Antisemitism and Islamophobia have also been on the rise. Many other migrant communities and their Australian-born descendants continue to face racial discrimination, abuse and […]