SBS News in Easy English 17 July 2025
Australian Woo Min Lee will tee off tonight at 11:30 p-m.
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SBS Australia
29 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Protesters rally against 'climate catastrophe' coal mine plan
Protesters have rallied outside a court opposing what is set to be one of Australia's biggest coal mines, saying the multibillion-dollar proposal will contribute to a "climate catastrophe". Several dozen people gathered on Monday to object to Whitehaven's Winchester South open-cut mine, comparing it with a 1960s proposal to dredge up the Great Barrier Reef to produce fertiliser. It came as the Land Court in Brisbane began hearing an objection against the proposal, which would extract 17 million tonnes of coal from the Bowen Basin each year. Who is opposing the mine proposal? Australian Conservation Foundation's Adam Beeson compared the proposed mine with reef dredging and oil drilling, ideas blocked by the courts decades ago as he addressed protesters outside. "What really is the difference between excavating coral and digging up coal, increasing the global temperature which causes coral bleaching and coral death?", Beeson said. He said his foundation along with the Mackay Conservation Group would tell the court the mine's return was "not worth this impact". Mackay Conservation Group climate campaigner Imogen Lindenberg said Winchester South could be the nation's biggest new coal mine. "If this mine goes ahead, it will create more pollution than Australia produces in one year," she said. "We are already living in a time of climate catastrophe. "Many folks' homes have been flooded, there are bushfires - it's not just us, it's all the beautiful threatened species." What has Whitehaven said? Barrister Saul Holt KC, acting for Whitehaven, said in his opening address that the Winchester South project would bring significant economic benefits. He said the mine had widespread community support and would bring $696 million in state royalties and 500 new jobs during construction and operations. "It's the right project, in the right place, by the right miner at the right time," he said. Holt said Winchester would also support manufacturing that was vital for Australia's transition to renewable energy.
News.com.au
29 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Man arrested in Strathfield driving black ‘Chinese Police' sedan with firearms, ammunition in boot
You don't see this one every day. Police in Sydney's inner west made a peculiar arrest on Friday after stopping a 21-year-old man driving a black sedan in Strathfield. Burwood Highway Patrol officers were conducting routine patrols at around 2:50pm on 18 July when they noticed a vehicle bearing 'Chinese Police' markings. On inspection of the vehicle, they found numerous 'Chinese Police' insignia affixed to the passenger door panels and the bonnet. The driver was charged after officers allegedly found firearms and ammunition in the boot. Upon questioning, the man allegedly produced a fake document claiming the vehicle was being used to transport Chinese consulate officials. During a search of the car, officers located a box containing 48 live rounds of ammunition in the trunk. The man, who holds an active firearms licence, allegedly told police he believed it was 'the best place to store his ammunition'. Officers seized the ammunition along with other items suspected of being used to impersonate police. They later gained access to the man's Baulkham Hills residence, where they located two gel blaster firearms, which were also seized. His registered firearms were taken pending a review of his firearms licence. The man was charged with multiple offences, including use display emergency services organisation insignia, driving motor vehicle with unlawful police insignia and possession of an unauthorised prohibited firearm. He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Burwood Local Court on Tuesday, 22 July 2025. At a glance, the man's black sedan looked to be legitimate, if not for the misspelt 'POILCE' emblazoned on his bonnet.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Banned for life': Mark Latham's portrait at Parliament House to carry disclaimer
Disgraced ex-Labor leader Mark Latham's portrait will not be removed from a photo wall of Labor leaders at Parliament House but will carry a new disclaimer noting he is 'banned for life' from the party he once led. The move follows a week of grotesque headlines over his ex-partner's claims that he was abusive towards her and once defecated on her before sex. The latest controversy has prompted calls to remove Mr Latham's image from the photo wall in Parliament House. Mr Latham emphatically denies being abusive towards Nathalie Matthews and insists any sexual contact between the pair was entirely consensual. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The former Labor leader was banned from the ALP nearly a decade ago over his decision to join the Liberal Democratic Party in May 2017. The new note to hang below his portrait will read: 'In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and banned for life. His actions do not accord with Labor values and failed to meet the standards we expect and demand.' After joining the Liberal Democrats, Mr Latham then moved on to One Nation before also being forced out of that party. Pauline Hanson slams Mark Latham One Nation's Senator Pauline Hanson has lashed his behaviour and demanded he give back his seat to One Nation. 'In my opinion, I think he's rude, arrogant, self-centred, and I think it's past the time in politics, and I think he needs to get out of the game,' she said. 'Please, Mark, step aside, give your seat back to One Nation. That's who the people of New South Wales voted for. One Nation, not for you.' Senator Hanson confirmed she regretted Mr Latham's association with her party and that she was 'very disappointed' he had undone a lot of her party's hard work. 'It's been very hard for me and so, like I said, I'll be honest, I hope to see the back end of him and he's gone from politics.' 'Peeping Toms' Over the weekend Mr Latham slammed the media as 'peeping toms' amid revelations his former partner booked him two sex workers to celebrate his 64th birthday and asked for the escorts to refer to the NSW MP as 'master', according to new leaked text messages. Mr Latham's former partner Nathalie Matthews, 37, arranged the sex workers with a text message from Ms Matthews to the escort service, stating: 'He suggested some involvement from me. I was planning to just watch – is that okay?' 'Let's refer to him as 'Master'. Please let the ladies know,' Ms Matthews wrote. In her application for an AVO, Ms Matthews claims Mr Latham pressed her 'to engage in sexual acts with others' and demanded she call him 'master' – claims Mr Latham denies. The matter will be heard in court this month. Three separate payments from Ms Matthews to the escort service on the night of Mr Latham's birthday include amounts of $2750, $1375 and $440. A WhatsApp message from Mr Latham days after then observed 'what a weekend' before later revealing he was suddenly feeling unwell. 'Are orgies good for libido but bad for health?' Mr Latham asked. After a rambling press conference in Camden on Saturday, Mr Latham took to social media to thank 'the many people who have sent messages of support for me against the media's voyeuristic smut campaign on my sex life.' 'These are sick people, so-called journalists, who have so little in their own lives they need to lather up and pry into others, like peeping Toms,'' he said. 'It's an outrage. My mates are so jealous they keep saying it's my shout every round.' Records subpoenaed Ms Matthews will be asked to hand over any records she holds of booking sex workers as part of the latest legal salvo between the former couple. A new subpoena served on Ms Matthew detailed how Mr Latham's legal team asserts she has several 'aliases' including Nathalie Darrough – which is believed to be her maiden name – and her Muslim name, Maryam Abdullah. The legal document also requires Ms Matthews to hand over all entries, postings, images and videos from her OnlyFans account from January 2021 to the current date. The fresh legal filing specifically zeros in on the date of Mr Latham's 64th birthday on February 28, 2025. It requests a copy of all communications including emails, receipts and credit card records for 'the booking of escorts on February 28, 2025 at the Fullerton Hotel Sydney with Red Door Escort Agency'. does not suggest that Ms Matthews made the booking or that she or Mr Latham had sex with escorts, only that his legal team has sought documents in a subpoena. Sex work is legal in NSW and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing. Mr Latham said the subpoenas were designed to test his ex-lover's claim he made her have sex with other men. 'She's falsely claimed in her private application to the court that I made her have sex with other people, so this allows us to interrogate the people that, unprompted by me … she's had sex with, and there are many,' Mr Latham said. 'So the (subpoenas are) directed in part … to get information that's relevant to her application so it can be tested in the court, which, of course, is the process of justice.' As to the claim he defecated on his former girlfriend during sex, he dismissed as 'nonsense, complete nonsense'. '(She is) making things up … as I said earlier in the week, most of the things she's complaining about, or 95 per cent of the things she's complaining about, she initiated,' he claimed. Red Door Agency promotes itself as a leading agency, providing high class escorts for couples seeking a 'ménage a trois'. 'Have you always wanted to add a beautiful woman into your bedroom universe? Do you imagine having a woman who you and your significant other could enjoy?,' the website states. 'Our agency is high-end, elite, and most importantly, discreet. No one will ever know you and your partner enjoyed a Red Door threesome unless you tell them.' 'Sexed up' relationship Mr Latham has spoken out over the breakdown of the relationship, insisting on Saturday it was a 'sexed up' relationship until their break up in May, when he alleges Ms Matthews confronted him 'covered in mud'. 'This was like something from World War Z,' he said. '(But) one thing's abundantly clear – what we had for over two years was a sexed-up consensual open arrangement between adults with a fair bit of other contacts, such as fun days of the races thrown in. I didn't make any moral judgement about her. 'I just enjoyed our time together, and it was enjoyable for 90 per cent of the time. The other (10) per cent could be dark and disturbing, but I rationalised it by thinking at my age, an age at which my father had already dropped dead, 90 per cent beat 10 per cent. 'But ultimately, there was an incident that ended it all as I mentioned earlier: the races.' In one text exchange on February 20 at 11:06 am, the former Labor leader writes, 'Master's c**k needs relief too. Very hard thinking about you.' The 64-year-old follows up with a series of emojis including a purple eggplant and a tongue. 'Haven't c*m in days,' he writes. Ms Matthews has alleged he asked her to call him 'master' and engaged in degrading sexual acts in a shocking apprehended violence application. She outlined the claims in an application to the NSW Local Court and is seeking a no-contact order for up to two years. Mr Latham, who is a New South Wales Legislative Council member, has issued an emphatic denial about the claims. Ms Matthews is seeking an order preventing Mr Latham from going within 100m of her, alleging an 'ongoing, reasonable fear of harassment, intimidation, and potential harm'. does not suggest the claims are true, only that they have been made in an application to the NSW Local Court in pursuit of an AVO.
