Wendy took on a local mine. Now she's at the High Court - and the world is watching

Wendy took on a local mine. Now she's at the High Court - and the world is watching

When Hunter Valley local Wendy Wales got together with a few of her neighbours to oppose a new open-cut mining operation on their doorstep in 2016, she had no idea it would instigate a years-long legal tussle with the potential to become what one litigation expert has described as "a watershed moment in the history of Australian law".

Today, the retired science teacher and her fellow farmers and Muswellbrook locals - now backed by some powerful legal forces including four of the world's leading climate law and science institutions - will put their case before the High Court of Australia.

The case centres around the community group's opposition to the proposed expansion of the Mount Pleasant mine, owned by a subsidary of Indonesian billionaire Anthoni Salim's mining conglomerate, MACH Energy Australia.

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But if the High Court upholds their case, the ramifications will reach far beyond just one mine, setting a nation-wide legal precedent that could throw plans for more than 18 coal proposals in New South Wales alone into doubt.

Professor of Climate Law at Bond University, Professor Nicole Rogers, has lent her voice to the community group's legal case.

"Australia's apex court hearing its first climate change case is a watershed moment in the history of Australian law," she said.

"Courts around the world - from The Hague to London to Canberra - are being asked the same fundamental questions."

Despite the daunting scale of the legal battle, Wales remains optimistic that the High Court will rule in the group's favour.

"The time is five minutes to midnight for Australia... We wish it would have happened 25 years ago," she said.

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At the crux of the DAMSHEG (Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group) group's argument is whether planning authorities are legally obliged to consider the local climate impacts of the coal that a mine exports overseas when analysing the impacts of a new project.

Over the past 25 years with her partner Tony Lonergan on his family's 600-acre property adjacent to the Mount Pleasant mine, Wales has witnessed Australia's altering climate first-hand, with weather extremes becoming more frequent and more severe.

After living through the Millennium drought, which brought many farmers to the brink, the community was wracked by devastating bushfires and multiple "one-in-100-year" floods in the space of just a few years.

Just last year, the May floods impacted their property and washed away part of their creek.

"It held for all the previous rain events, but this one, we lost probably about six or seven metres of bank," Wales said.

In fact, their property and others like them are now deemed such a natural disaster risk that Wales and Lonergan struggled to obtain home insurance and were forced to switch insurers.

"I personally know half a dozen people who have lost their houses in the last ten years," Wales said.

"I don't know people from the last century who lost their houses like this.

"They had insurance and they can start up again but they have really experienced something that is quite shattering."

Under the proposed expansion of the Mount Pleasant mine, its operating licence would be extended by 22 years - stretching the life of the mine out to 2048 and doubling coal production to 21 million tonnes per year.

The vast majority of that coal will be exported and burnt overseas, sending an additional 870 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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Wales believes that if planning authorities were obliged to take the local climate and economic impacts of these emissions into account, the scales would tip against approving such projects.

Their case was shot down by the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2024 but in July last year, a panel of three judges on the NSW Court of Appeal unanimously overturned that ruling.

The landmark verdict came just hours after the United Nations' top court at The Hague ruled that countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change.

Now, the Mount Pleasant mine's owners are appealing to the High Court.

Proponents of the mine's expansion have touted the new jobs it will bring to Muswellbrook and surrounding communities.

There are currently around 400 local workers employed at the mine, and the expansion would increase this to an average of 600 over the life of the mine.

A spokesperson from MACH Energy Australia said the company "welcomes" the opportunity to put its case to the High Court.

"(We) will continue to operate in alignment with existing approvals and conditions and seek to provide long-term continuity and certainty for its staff, contractors, customers and the local community," the spokesperson said in a statement. 

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Real estate boss warns of immediate rent hikes if negative gearing changes

Real estate boss warns of immediate rent hikes if negative gearing changes

A real estate boss has warned landlords may hike rents by up to 30 per cent if proposed changes to negative gearing come into effect.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is likely to announce sweeping reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax in tonight's federal budget as the Albanese government looks to tackle issues of housing affordability.

It is not known how much the government will change negative gearing, a generous tax break that allows an investor to deduct expenses related to properties from their taxable income, meaning they pay less at tax time.

Aerial photo of houses.

Although the changes could result in lower prices, Nathan Birch from property investment firm Blink Property said renters would feel the pinch from any changes, and warned it could be immediate.

"For Aussie battlers doing it tough, that means a $400 rental will become $550 almost immediately post the budget announcement if changes to negative gearing come into effect," Birch said.

"This will be catastrophic for so many Australians, and the government really needs to consider the wave of homelessness that could follow, particularly for our most vulnerable."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers

Birch said the changes would have the strongest impact on "mum and dad investors", who were often renters themselves while they leased out their investment property and waited to save.

Birch said this would lead to a knock-on effect that benefited fewer people in the long run.

"When policy changes like this come into play, their own rents go up, leaving them no choice but to raise the rent on their investments," he said.

"It's a very dangerous knock-on effect that I'm not sure the Labor Government has considered adequately – particularly when so many renters and investors are Labor voters."

Treasurer Chalmers said despite promising against it in last year's election, the government had no choice but to take bold action to address the housing crisis.

"There are genuine intergenerational concerns and pressures in our budget, in our tax system, in our housing market and in our economy more broadly," Chalmers said last week.

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Extra jail over 'kill cars', recruiting children for crime

Extra jail over 'kill cars', recruiting children for crime

Criminals who recruit children or ignite 'kill cars' to break the law could face more time in jail, following a spate of shootings and firebombings.

In a bid to quash organised crime, the NSW government will introduce legislation today to create new offences and make it harder for those with gang links to get bail.

Anyone who sets a car alight after using it to traffic drugs, supply firearms or commit other serious crimes could face up to 12 years in prison, two years more than the punishment for destroying or damaging property by fire.

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Multiple heavily armed police officers surround a vehicle and a man they arrested in Sydney's south-west.Police also said they found jerry cans inside the vehicles.

The maximum penalty for recruiting a child for criminal activity will increase from 10 to 12 years and up to 15 years if the child is aged under 16 or is hired to steal cars.

Those who shoot a pistol or prohibited firearm in public will face up to 14 years in jail and criminals who fire at buildings or other cars could find themselves behind bars for 18 years.

"These comprehensive reforms will help keep the community safe, and hold organised criminals to account for the destruction and harm they inflict on our streets," NSW Attorney General Michael Daley said.

In recent months, police have made several arrests over alleged 'kill cars', which are used by organised crime groups or contract criminals to commit and get away with serious offences.

The vehicles are often stolen cars with cloned licence plates that contain balaclavas, weapons, and jerry cans which can be used to destroy evidence.

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A car was found torched in Kingsgrove.Attorney General Michael Daley said there is no place for any hateful symbols ot speech in NSW.

Police claimed to have stopped an alleged 'kill car' plot in April after ramming into an Audi believed to be linked to multiple shooting and firebombing incidents across south-west Sydney.

Officers last October also pounced on a group of men in a car, allegedly trying to intercept and kill their target as he picked up a child from daycare.

In April, two men and a 17-year-old were arrested over their alleged involvement in a firebombing.

Concerns over youth crime have made headlines across the country.

Children committed 57.6 per cent of carjackings, 52.6 per cent of home invasions, 47.8 per cent of aggravated burglaries and 62.4 per cent of robberies, according to Victorian government statistics.

Queensland and Victoria have passed controversial laws requiring children to face adult sentences for serious offences, while the Northern Territory has lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10.

But youth justice experts say such reforms will lead to the incarceration of already-vulnerable children and would not prevent them from re-offending.

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Hantavirus travel warning issued by Australian authorities

Hantavirus travel warning issued by Australian authorities

A fresh alert has been issued from the country at the centre of the outbreak of a virus which spread on a cruise ship.

Smarttraveller says hantavirus, which is spread through contact with infected rodents, "continues to be a risk in Argentina, including in and around Buenos Aires and northern Patagonia."

Three people have died as part of the outbreak.

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"Avoid contact with live or dead rodents, nests, burrows and droppings," the update says.

Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings, and the disease is not easily transmitted between people.

But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one to eight weeks after exposure.

Argentina remains a "green" country, which means to exercise "normal precautions."

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Officials in Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province are challenging the idea that the ongoing deadly hantavirus outbreak may have emerged there, pushing instead for investigations into the other Argentine provinces that passengers visited before boarding the ill-fated Atlantic cruise ship.

Current and former officials in the archipelago at the southernmost point of South America insist that the virus did not originate from the trash heap in Ushuaia that national health authorities named earlier this week as the most likely place two Dutch tourists contracted it while bird-watching.

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Meanwhile, Australians on board the ship will have to wait on the vessel, despite other passengers departing, as they await a flight home.

The four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and a New Zealand national are expected to leave the Canary Islands, where passengers have finally begun to disembark, later today and touch down in Perth on Tuesday.

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A federal government spokesperson said Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consular officers in Tenerife and Canberra had been closely coordinating the response while the Commonwealth and states are working through health and transport arrangements.

Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness.

More cases of a deadly, rodent-borne illness could emerge in the coming weeks but the risk to public health is "low", according to the World Health Organisation.

"This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn't be scared, and they shouldn't panic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says.

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- with AP

Major e-commerce company looking to hire hundreds of workers ahead of seasonal sales

Major e-commerce company looking to hire hundreds of workers ahead of seasonal sales

Amazon Australia has announced it will hire 850 seasonal workers across the country ahead of its annual July sale, Prime Day.

The work involves picking, packing and shipping orders from the company's warehouses across the country.

About half the roles are in Sydney, as well as more than 100 in Melbourne and Perth and smaller numbers in Brisbane and Adelaide. A full list of the roles on offer can be found below.

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Amazon warehouse

Michelle Theophilou, a senior HR manager, said no experience was required.

"We provide all training on-site, so no experience is required, and over the years we've welcomed many people who have never set foot in a warehouse before," she said.

"All we're looking for is enthusiasm and a willingness to get involved."

Prime Day is Amazon's annual shopping event exclusive to Prime members.

At the beginning of last year, the Australia Institute found more than one million Australians were working two or more jobs.

State-based hiring numbers:

  • In Sydney, Amazon is hiring for 435 roles across its fulfilment centres and delivery stations, including across its facilities in Kemps Creek, Horsley Park, Chullora, Eastern Creek, West Gosford and Bella Vista.
  • In Brisbane, Amazon is hiring for 89 roles across its fulfilment centres and delivery stations, including across its facilities in Lytton and Pinkenba.
  • In Melbourne, Amazon is hiring for 159 roles across its fulfilment centres and delivery stations, including across its facilities in Avalon, Dandenong South, Ravenhall and Mulgrave.
  • In Perth, Amazon is hiring for 146 roles across its fulfilment centres and delivery stations, including across its facilities in Jandakot and Kewdale.
  • In Adelaide, Amazon is hiring for 22 roles at its facility in Cavan.

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Joyce says One Nation will 'go for government' after historic win

Joyce says One Nation will 'go for government' after historic win

Barnaby Joyce said One Nation is looking to target urban seats in parts of Sydney after their historic Farrer by-election win, claiming the party is aiming for government.

One Nation won its first-ever seat in the House of Representatives, with David Farley claiming the seat of former Liberal leader Sussan Ley in a canter, sending shockwaves through Australia's political sphere.

Farley secured 57 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, with the Liberal Party polling at just 12 per cent, raising existential questions about their future.

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Barnaby Joyce said One Nation would not rest on their laurels after an historic win at the Farrer by-election.

However, Joyce insists One Nation won't rest on their laurels, and will target seats in parts of Western Sydney he claims could shift as part of the orange wave.

"I tell you what, I've met some people from the western suburbs of Sydney who are pretty happy that One Nation is on the move," he claimed on Today.

"This is not an issue that is about regional Australia, this is about [all of] Australia."

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Barnaby Joyce claimed "people don't see One Nation as racist."

He said recent results in Farrer and in the South Australian state election had removed previous tags over the party, and that One Nation was aiming to be in power rather than "maintaining the status quo."

"I don't think people see One Nation as racist; they view them as tough," he said.

"People say Labor are so strong in the western suburbs, Labor didn't even turn up to the Farrer by-election, that's how strong they are."

He also dismissed the idea that the route back to power for the conservative side of politics is to win back inner-city seats.

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"[People say] 'You've got to win back Teal seats', no you don't, you've got to look after people in the regional areas and the western suburbs of the major capitals," he claimed.

Some commentators have suggested the Liberal Party and One Nation could come together to form a Coalition government that could challenge Labor, an idea that was not dismissed by Liberal MP Tim Wilson yesterday.

However, Joyce insisted this was off the table, saying he would rather chase "policy outcomes" than ministries.

"We don't want your ministries, keep your ministries and your salaries. You've got all of the prizes, but you will deliver policy outcomes, because we will not be constricted by cabinet solidarity that has done over the Australian people," he said.

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Details of evacuation plan for hantavirus cruise ship revealed

Details of evacuation plan for hantavirus cruise ship revealed

Passengers and crew stranded on the MV Hondius, which has been hit by a hantavirus outbreak, are set to finally leave the ship in the coming hours.

However, they will be under strict protocols, including only being able to take limited belongings with them when they disembark the ship when it docks on the Canary Islands.

The ship will not dock but will remain at anchor, with people ferried off in small boats. Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms and won't be taken off the ship until a flight is already in Tenerife waiting for them.

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A member of the Guardia Civil finishes erecting a tent at an expected reception point for passengers from the MV Hondius at the Granadilla Port.Workers prepare the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Friday, May 8, 2026.

The details were announced by Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia during a news conference in Madrid, where she and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looked to reassure the local community on the Canary Islands that there would be no outbreak on land.

"I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word 'outbreak' and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment," Tedros said in a statement to the people of Tenerife.

"But I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now."

Garcia said passengers and some crew would disembark in Tenerife "under maximum safety conditions".

There are more than 140 people from more than 20 different countries on board, including four Australian citizens and one permanent resident.

Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights on Sunday and Monday, the director of the WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, Maria Van Kerkove, said in a briefing.

Those disembarking will leave behind their luggage, Garcia said, and will be allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a mobile phone, charger and documentation.

Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to the Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, the minister said.

Operation could be delayed as residents express concern

The operation to let passengers leave the stricken ship could be delayed, with Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo claiming some of the repatriation flights that were to take passengers back to their home countries had not arrived on time.

In an impromptu press conference held this morning, he claimed he was looking to cancel the operation due to the health risks it would pose to his community.

He is not the only one who is concerned.

Some on Tenerife say they are worried, on board the cruise ship, some Spanish passengers have voiced concern about being stigmatised.

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The MV Hondius cruise ship departs the port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

"I tell you, I don't like this very much," 69-year-old resident Simon Vidal said.

"Anyone can say what they want. Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not anywhere else, why bring it to the Canary Islands?"

Others said they empathised with the boat's passengers, but were still concerned.

"The truth is that it is very worrying," 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Samantha Aguero said.

"We feel a bit unsafe, we don't feel as there are 100 per cent security measures in place to welcome it.

"This is a virus after all and we have lived this during the pandemic. But we also need to have empathy."

Reported with Associated Press.

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Iran warns the US against attacks on its oil tankers and other ships

Iran warns the US against attacks on its oil tankers and other ships

Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy warned that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the US bases in the region and enemy ships, even as a tenuous ceasefire appeared to be holding.

Iranian state TV reported the warning a day after the United States struck two Iranian oil tankers, casting doubt on the month-old ceasefire that the US has insisted is still in effect.

The US military said the tankers were trying to breach its blockade of Iran’s ports.

Meanwhile Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s regional headquarters, said it arrested dozens of people it alleged had links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

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Washington awaits Iran's response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and roll back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow's proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a settlement remains on the table.

Bahrain says arrests were linked to Guard funding attempt

Bahrain said it had arrested 41 people it said are part of a group affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard.

The interior ministry said investigations confirmed they were in contact with the Guard and collected funds “with the aim of sending them to Iran” to support its "terrorist operations.”

The small Persian Gulf island is led by a Sunni Muslim monarchy but, like Iran, has a majority Shiite population.

Rights groups have said the kingdom has used the war between Iran and the US, which bases its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as an excuse to crack down on dissent.

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President Donald Trump and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa pose during the family picture at the Gaza International Peace Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, October 13 2025.

Iran issued a warning to Bahrain: “Siding with the US-backed resolution will bring severe consequences. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital lifeline; do not risk closing it on yourselves FOREVER," Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission of Iran’s parliament, said on social media.

Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets.

The US has imposed its own blockade of Iran’s ports. US Central Command said on Saturday its forces had turned back 58 commercial ships and “disabled” four since the blockade began April 13.

Britain deploys warship to the Middle East

Britain’s defence ministry said it was deploying a warship to the Middle East to join a potential mission to protect commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end.

The ministry said the HMS Dragon will “preposition” in the region, ready to join a UK and French-led security plan.

France announced this week it was moving its aircraft carrier strike group into the Red Sea in preparation.

Britain and France have led meetings involving several dozen countries on a coalition to re-establish freedom of navigation in the strait.

But they stress it won’t start until there is a sustainable ceasefire and the maritime industry is reassured ships can go through the strait safely.

Diplomacy continues ‘day and night’

US President Donald Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran doesn’t accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program.

On Friday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the country was not paying attention to “deadlines,” according to state-run IRNA.

Diplomacy continues. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has been in contact with the US and Iran “day and night” in an effort to extend the ceasefire and reach a peace deal.

Russia’s foreign ministry said that it, as well as Saudi Arabia, was calling for diplomatic efforts to reach a “sustainable, long-term agreement” to end the war.

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Separately, Putin told reporters in Moscow that taking enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a settlement would allow everyone to see “how much of it there is, and where it is located,” and “all of this would be placed under the control of the IAEA,” the UN nuclear watchdog.

Egyptian and Qatari top diplomats reiterated that diplomacy is the sole path to a solution, according to a readout of a phone call between the two foreign ministers.

Still publicly unseen and unheard since the war began is Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, fuelling speculation about his status.

On Friday, a top Iranian official said Khamenei was in “complete health” and eventually would appear in public.

Mazaher Hosseini, affiliated with the office of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war, made the comment at a pro-government gathering.

Hosseini said Mojtaba, Khamenei's son, had knee and back injuries in the war’s opening attacks but they’ve largely healed.

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Woman fighting for life after Melbourne hit and run

Woman fighting for life after Melbourne hit and run

Police are searching for the driver involved in an alleged hit and run that has left a woman fighting for life in Melbourne.

Police were told a woman in her 40s was walking on Swan Street near the intersection of Scott Street in Melton in Melbourne's west when she was hit by a small white hatchback at about 12.30 this morning.

The car failed to stop and was last seen driving away from the scene heading east along Swan Street.

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Broken shards of glass and items of clothing were left on the street.The car involved and the driver have not been found.

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Items of clothing and shards of broken glass were seen at the site of the accident.

The woman was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police are urging anyone who witnessed the collision or anyone with footage or further information to contact Crime Stoppers.

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