At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Meta has started notifying thousands of young Australians that their Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts will soon be blocked under Australia’s new age restriction laws. The federal government announced earlier this month that major platforms — including Meta apps, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube — must take “reasonable steps” to block users under 16 from December 10. Meta is the first company to outline how it will comply. From Thursday, the tech giant began sending SMS and email alerts to suspected underage users, warning that access will be cut from December 4. The company says teens should use the two-week notice period to download their photos and contacts, or update their details so they can regain access once they turn 16. Meta estimates around 350,000 Australians aged 13–15 use Instagram, and 150,000 in the same age group use Facebook. Teens who are actually 16 or older but received the warning by mistake will be able to verify their age using Yoti Age Verification, which accepts government ID or a “video selfie.” However, experts warn the technology isn’t perfect. Sydney University’s Terry Flew says facial-recognition tools still have a failure rate of around 5%. The government has made it clear that demanding ID from every user would be unreasonable, arguing platforms already have enough data to identify most underage accounts. Platforms that fail to take proper action could face fines of up to $50 million. Meta’s global safety chief, Antigone Davis, said a better system would be for app stores like Apple and Google to verify a user’s age when they download apps, reducing the need for platforms to collect extra data. Parent advocacy groups say families should now start preparing their children for life with less screen time. Dany Elachi from the Heaps Up Alliance — which pushed for the age limit — said the change will be tough but ultimately beneficial. “When everybody misses out, nobody misses out,” he said. “Kids will have new opportunities once they’re spending less time online.” Source : DailyMirror More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian households will soon be able to use electricity for free for three hours every day under a new federal government plan designed to make better use of excess solar energy. The Solar Sharer scheme will require energy retailers to offer free electricity during a set window in the middle of the day — the time when solar generation is high and demand is low. Wholesale prices often drop to very cheap or even negative levels during these hours. The scheme will begin next July for customers on the Default Market Offer in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia. The government plans to expand it nationwide by 2027. Households with smart meters will be able to run appliances like washing machines, dryers and air conditioning at no cost during the free period. Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the policy ensures everyone benefits from solar power — including renters and people without panels. “There’s so much solar in the middle of the day that prices often fall below zero. This scheme spreads the benefits to all consumers,” he said. Energy retailers, however, say the announcement caught them by surprise. The Australian Energy Council criticised the lack of consultation and warned that smaller retailers may struggle with market risks and costs. Mr Bowen said he makes “no apologies” if the policy reduces retailer profits, adding that consumers come first. The government believes the shift in energy use will ease pressure on the grid during the evening peak and may help keep long-term costs down by avoiding expensive network upgrades. The scheme comes as households face growing concerns about power bills. Default Market Offer prices are set to rise by up to 9.7 per cent this year, depending on location. Meanwhile, the Coalition remains divided over its climate policy, with the Nationals moving to abandon the 2050 net zero target. Critics argue that offering free daytime power could lead to higher prices at other times. As the debate continues, the government points to strong solar generation pushing daytime wholesale prices into negative territory across almost every state. “Free daytime power shows that what’s good for the planet can also be good for your wallet,” Mr Bowen said. Source : ABC News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. මෝටර් රථ වාහන පනත යටතේ නිකුත් කරන ලද නව රෙගුලාසි අනුගමනය කරමින්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පුරවැසියන් සහ විදේශීය ජාතිකයන් යන දෙපිරිසටම රියදුරු බලපත්‍ර නිකුත් කිරීම සම්බන්ධ ගාස්තු කිහිපයක් සංශෝධනය කර ඇත. 2025 නොවැම්බර් 17 දින අංක 2463/04 දරන අතිවිශේෂ ගැසට් පත්‍රයට අනුව, දැනටමත් විදේශීය බලපත්‍රයක් හිමි ශ්‍රී ලාංකික පුරවැසියෙකුට රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් නිකුත් කිරීමේ ගාස්තුව රු. 30,000 ක් ලෙස නියම කර ඇත. එම කාණ්ඩයේම විදේශීය ජාතිකයෙකු සඳහා ගාස්තුව රු. 60,000 ක් ලෙස නියම කර ඇත. ගැසට් පත්‍රය මගින් පුරවැසියන් නොවන අය සඳහා බලපත්‍ර නිකුත් කිරීම, අලුත් කිරීම සහ ප්‍රතිස්ථාපනය කිරීම සඳහා යාවත්කාලීන ගාස්තු හඳුන්වා දෙන අතර, රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් නිකුත් කිරීම සඳහා රු. 45,000 ක් සහ අලුත් කිරීම් සඳහා රු. 15,000 ක් ද ඇතුළත් වේ. ශ්‍රී ලාංකික පුරවැසියන් සහ විදේශිකයන් යන දෙපිරිසටම - අමුත්තන් සඳහා තාවකාලික රියදුරු බලපත්‍ර ගාස්තු ද බහු කාල කාණ්ඩ හරහා සංශෝධනය කර ඇත. Source : Newswire More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian shoppers can now expect parcels to arrive any day of the week, with Australia Post bringing back weekend deliveries from this Saturday. The temporary service aims to handle the huge spike in parcels expected during the festive season. Weekend deliveries will run across all major capital cities and selected regional areas, staying in place until Christmas. Gary Starr, Australia Post’s Executive General Manager for Parcels and eCommerce, said the extra delivery days are essential to keep things moving smoothly. “With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, we’re preparing for a major rise in online shopping and parcel volumes,” he said. Last year, Australia Post delivered almost 103 million parcels over the Black Friday period — and they’re gearing up for an even bigger season this year. To manage demand, Australia Post has boosted its network by adding more free Parcel Lockers and opening new parcel-only Post Offices with 24/7 self-service options in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. Customers are being urged to stick to the recommended posting deadlines to avoid delays: Christmas Delivery Cut-Off Dates Parcel Post: • Same-state metro — Mon, Dec 22 • Interstate metro — Fri, Dec 19 Express Post: • Same-state metro — Tue, Dec 23 • Interstate metro — Tue, Dec 23 People sending parcels to or from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania, or regional and remote areas should allow extra time. Source : 9News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian researchers are sounding the alarm as new data shows children are abandoning key developmental activities in favour of scrolling on social media. A University of South Australia study tracking more than 14,000 students aged 11–14 found that daily social media use has exploded — rising from 26% in 2019 to 85% in 2022, a 200% increase since before COVID-19. As screen time surged, participation in traditional activities collapsed: Kids who never read for fun jumped from 11% to 53% Those who never took part in arts activities rose from 26% to 70% Students who never joined extra-curricular music climbed from 70% to 85% Social media non-users dropped from 31% to just 3% Researchers also found boys showed a sharper decline in reading, while girls used social media more frequently. Unlike other habits that returned to normal after lockdowns — such as TV watching and gaming — social media use remained high. UniSA researcher Mason Zhou said social media has become so dominant that it is replacing activities crucial for healthy development, including sport, creative play and reading. “These changes happened during a critical stage of adolescence and have persisted years after restrictions ended. That could mean lasting consequences for young people,” he warned. The findings come as Australia prepares to roll out a national social media ban for under-16s. Experts say the study highlights where extra support will be needed to help kids reconnect with enriching activities. Co-researcher Professor Dot Dumuid said programs encouraging young people to return to sports, arts, music and reading are vital. “Kids involved in these activities generally do better at school, build stronger identities, develop social skills and enjoy better mental health,” she said. Dumuid also noted that while the ban may reduce social media use, children may shift to gaming or other platforms — making it important to monitor how their behaviours change. Source : 9News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. 2025 අංක 17 දරන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සූදු නියාමන අධිකාරී පනත, ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද ගැසට් නිවේදනයකින් පසුව, දෙසැම්බර් 1 වන දින නිල වශයෙන් බලාත්මක වනු ඇත. මෙම පනත මගින් රටේ සියලුම සූදු ක්‍රියාකාරකම් අධීක්ෂණය කිරීම සඳහා තනි, ස්වාධීන නියාමකයෙකු ස්ථාපිත කරන අතර ජාතියේ සූදු නීති රාමුවේ ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමක් සනිටුහන් කරයි. මෙම පනත මගින් සූදු නියාමන අධිකාරියක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට හැකියාව ලබා දෙන අතර, එමඟින් නැව් තුළ සහ කොළඹ වරාය නගරය තුළ ඇතුළුව කැසිනෝ, මාර්ගගත ක්‍රීඩා, අක්වෙරළ ක්‍රීඩා මෙහෙයුම් සහ ඔට්ටු ඇල්ලීමේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් අධීක්ෂණය භාර ගනු ඇත. බලාත්මක වූ පසු, නීති සම්පාදනය දිගුකාලීන නීති තුනක් අවලංගු කරයි: අශ්ව රේසිං ආඥා පනත, සූදු ආඥා පනත සහ 2010 කැසිනෝ ව්‍යාපාර (නියාමනය) පනත. පවතින ක්‍රියාකරුවන් නව නියාමකයා යටතේ අනුකූලතාවයට මාරු වීමට අවශ්‍ය වනු ඇත. රාජ්‍ය මූල්‍ය පිළිබඳ පාර්ලිමේන්තු කමිටුව විසින් අනුමත කිරීමෙන් ටික කලකට පසු අගෝස්තු මාසයේදී පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී මුල් පනත් කෙටුම්පත ඒකමතිකව සම්මත කිරීමෙන් පසුව ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සිදු කෙරේ. නීති සම්පාදකයින් අවධාරණය කළේ අධිකාරියේ අරමුණ වන්නේ අංශය ප්‍රමිතිකරණය කිරීම, මුදල් විශුද්ධිකරණයට එරෙහි පියවර ඇතුළුව අනුකූලතාව ශක්තිමත් කිරීම සහ සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරයට සහ ආර්ථික වර්ධනයට සහාය වීම සඳහා විභව සමාජ හානිය අවම කිරීමයි. පනතේ කාල නිර්ණය වැදගත් වන අතර එය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ක්‍රීඩා වෙළඳපොළ කෙරෙහි ප්‍රධාන ආයෝජන සහ නව ජාත්‍යන්තර අවධානයට සමපාත වේ. අගෝස්තු මාසයේදී, මෙල්කෝ විසින් ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.2 ක සිහින නගරය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම විවෘත කරන ලද අතර එය රටේ විශාලතම පුද්ගලික ආයෝජනය සහ දකුණු ආසියාවේ සමාගමේ පළමු ව්‍යාපෘතියයි. "ඉන්දියාවේ මැකාවු" ලෙස ස්ථානගත වීමේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අභිලාෂය ස්ථාවර නියාමනය සහ ඵලදායී පාලනය මත රඳා පවතින බවත්, එමඟින් නව අධිකාරිය අනාගත සංවර්ධනය සඳහා මූලික අංගයක් බවට පත් කරන බවත් කර්මාන්ත විශේෂඥයින් මීට පෙර AGB වෙත පැවසීය. සූදු නියාමන අධිකාරියට නීත්‍යානුකූලව බලාත්මක කළ හැකි සමාජ වගකීම් කේත නිකුත් කිරීමට බලය පවරා ඇති අතර, ඉඩම් පදනම් කරගත් සහ දුරස්ථ ක්‍රීඩා ක්‍රියාකාරකම් දෙකටම එහි ප්‍රවේශය පුළුල් කරයි. මෙම ඒකාබද්ධ ප්‍රවේශය විනිවිදභාවය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම, ආයෝජකයින්ගේ විශ්වාසය ඉහළ නැංවීම සහ අංශයේ දිගුකාලීන ස්ථාවරත්වයට සහාය වීම අරමුණු කරගත් බව බලධාරීන් පවසයි. Source : agbrief More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Melbourne’s tram network — the largest in the world — is still far from meeting national accessibility standards, with a new audit showing little progress over the past five years. According to the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO), only 18% of tram services in 2023–24 were fully accessible, meaning low-floor trams aligned with level-access stops. Low-floor tram numbers have risen by just 3% since the previous review, and accessible stops have only increased from 27% to 29%. For people with mobility challenges, the impact is significant. The report found they often wait up to 30 minutes longer for an accessible tram compared to other passengers. The state government received 10 recommendations after the last review — but has completed only five. The Department of Transport and Planning has since sought legal advice over its failure to meet national accessibility deadlines and developed several strategies, none containing clear targets, timelines or funding. The human cost is clear. Terry Wesselink, 60, who lives with a connective tissue disorder and uses a mobility walker, says her nearest tram line often has steps and too few level platforms. She sometimes drives up to four kilometres just to reach an accessible stop. “I’m not valued as a human being because my needs are not being taken into account,” she said. One in five Victorians has a disability. Yet accessibility laws introduced in 2002 required tram platforms to be fully compliant by 2022 — a deadline Victoria has already missed. Current plans also suggest the state will miss the 2032 deadline for converting the entire fleet to low-floor trams. Greens MP Katherine Copsey called the lack of progress “shameful” and urged the government to invest more urgently. Premier Jacinta Allan said her government is making upgrades, including through the Metro Tunnel project, but advocates say much more is needed to fix gaps between old and modern infrastructure. As Ms Wesselink put it: “Level tram stops don’t come with ribbon-cuttings. They’re simple things we just need to do.” Source : ABC News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. Western Australia has honoured its top scientific talent at the 24th Premier’s Science Awards — and Sri Lankan oceanographer Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi has taken home one of the night’s biggest titles. Professor Pattiaratchi won the People’s Choice Award, earning an impressive 7,880 votes from colleagues and supporters across the scientific community. The award recognises researchers whose work inspires the public and contributes meaningfully to the State. The event celebrates WA’s leading innovators and is supported by Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Western Australia, Scitech, the WA Museum and other major institutions. WA Premier Roger Cook praised this year’s winners, calling them essential to driving innovation and shaping the State’s economic future. He highlighted that supporting world-class researchers is central to the government’s long-term plan to strengthen and diversify the local economy. Government leaders also noted that science and innovation play a vital role in tackling global challenges, creating new industries and improving life for communities across WA. The awards reflect the depth of expertise in the State — from emerging researchers to internationally recognised leaders like Professor Pattiaratchi. Professor Pattiaratchi’s win shines a spotlight not only on Western Australia’s research excellence, but also on the global impact of Sri Lankan scientists making waves around the world. Source : WA.Government.au More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. 2025 වසර සඳහා විදේශ සංචාරක පැමිණීම් මිලියන දෙක ඉක්මවා ගොස් ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) පවසයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA)ට අනුව, සඳුදා බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය යුවළකගේ පැමිණීමත් සමඟ මෙම සන්ධිස්ථානයට ළඟා වූ අතර එය යථා තත්ත්වයට පත්වන සංචාරක අංශය සඳහා තවත් ධනාත්මක පියවරක් සනිටුහන් කළේය. වැඩිදියුණු කළ ගුවන් ගමන් සම්බන්ධතා, ප්‍රවර්ධන ව්‍යාපාර සහ ඉන්දියාව, එක්සත් රාජධානිය, චීනය සහ ජර්මනිය වැනි ප්‍රධාන වෙළඳපොළවලින් වැඩිවන උනන්දුව හේතුවෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වසර පුරා පැමිණීම්වල ස්ථාවර වර්ධනයක් වාර්තා කර ඇත. සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉහළම විදේශ විනිමය උපයන එකක් ලෙස පවතින අතර, ශීත ඍතුවේ උච්චතම කාලය තුළ පැමිණීම් අඛණ්ඩව ඉහළ යනු ඇතැයි නිලධාරීන් අපේක්ෂා කරයි. Credit : Newswire Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Early forecasts suggest a damp start to summer for many parts of Australia, with several capitals tipped to see rain throughout December. Here’s what AccuWeather expects for each state and territory — including Christmas Day. New South Wales – Sydney Sydney is set for a cloudy and rainy December, with storms likely before Christmas. Temperatures will range from 19°C to 28°C. Christmas Day is expected to stay dry, with cloud cover and a top of 27°C. Victoria – Melbourne Melbourne will have warm but cloudy days, with highs around 25°C and lows near 13°C. Rain and storms may arrive late in the month. Christmas Day should be partly sunny with a comfortable 24°C. Queensland – Brisbane Brisbane will heat up, with highs of 30°C or more and lows around 21°C. Expect sunny days and scattered summer storms. Christmas Day looks mostly sunny, with some cloud and a high of 28°C. ACT – Canberra Canberra will enjoy mild, pleasant weather with highs near 26°C and lows around 13°C. Christmas Day is currently forecast to bring showers but still feel warm, reaching 28°C. South Australia – Adelaide Adelaide is heading for a hot December, with temperatures climbing into the low 30s and cooling to the mid-teens at night. Christmas Day may be wet, though the forecast high is 27°C. Western Australia – Perth Perth will see classic summer heat, with highs around 31°C and lows near 18°C. Most days will be sunny with the odd storm. Christmas Day is expected to be cloudy and warm at 29°C. Northern Territory – Darwin Darwin will be hot and humid, with highs around 34°C and lows near 26°C. Rain and thunderstorms are expected throughout the month — including on Christmas Day, which could reach 32°C. Tasmania – Hobart Hobart will ease into summer with mild temperatures, sunshine and occasional showers. Highs will sit around 25°C, with lows near 13°C. Christmas Day is shaping up to be cloudy and cool, with a top of just 19°C. Credit :9News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. පොලිස් මාධ්‍ය ප්‍රකාශක සහකාර පොලිස් අධිකාරී එෆ්. යූ. වූට්ලර් මහතා මතක් කර දී ඇත්තේ වලංගු ජාත්‍යන්තර රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් (IDP) හෝ තම මව් රටෙන් දේශීය රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් නොමැති විදේශීය ජාතිකයින්ට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ කිසිදු වාහනයක් පැදවීමට අවසර නොමැති බවයි. නීති විරෝධී ලෙස ත්‍රිරෝද රථ ධාවනය කරන සංචාරකයින් පොලිසිය විසින් වැඩි වැඩියෙන් නිරීක්ෂණය කර ඇති බව ඔහු පැවසීය. “බොහෝ විදේශිකයන් ත්‍රිරෝද රථ භාවිතා කරන ආකාරය අපි දැක ඇති අතර එය නීති විරෝධී ය. මෙම වාහනවල හිමිකරුවන්ට එරෙහිව පොලිසිය දැඩි පියවර ගෙන තිබේ,” ඔහු පැවසීය. විදේශීය සංචාරකයින් සහ දේශීය සංචාරකයින් යන දෙදෙනාම රට තුළ වාහන භාවිතා කරන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මෝටර් රථ ප්‍රවාහන පනතේ දක්වා ඇති රෙගුලාසි පිළිපැදිය යුතු බව සහකාර පොලිස් අධිකාරී වූට්ලර් මහතා පැවසීය. බොහෝ විදේශීය ජාතිකයින් වලංගු බලපත්‍ර නොමැතිව රිය පැදවීම සොයාගෙන ඇති බවත්, එමඟින් බලාත්මක කිරීම වැඩි වී ඇති බවත් ඔහු පැවසීය. පොලිසියට අනුව, වලංගු ජාත්‍යන්තර රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් ඇති විදේශීය ජාතිකයින්ට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නීත්‍යානුකූලව රිය පැදවිය හැකිය. තම මව් රටවල නිකුත් කරන ලද දේශීය රියදුරු බලපත්‍ර ඇති අයටද රිය පැදවිය හැකි නමුත් මෝටර් රථ ප්‍රවාහන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවෙන් සහතිකයක් හෝ අනුමැතියක් ලබා ගැනීමෙන් පසුව පමණි. Credit : Dailymirror More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s student accommodation sector is set for a major clean-energy upgrade, with the Albanese Government and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) backing the country’s biggest apartment-electrification project — and it’s happening across student housing. Through a $50 million CEFC investment into The Living Company’s Scape Australia Core Fund, up to 20 large student accommodation buildings in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide will transition to fully electric systems. Gas connections will be removed, and new energy-efficient technologies will be installed. The upgrades will benefit more than 17,000 students by improving comfort and cutting emissions. This marks the first Commonwealth-funded electrification project of this scale for residential apartments — a significant step for both student living and Australia’s broader push toward net zero. Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson said the project delivers the practical climate solutions Australians expect. He highlighted that electric buildings are cheaper to run, better for the environment and more comfortable for residents. The upgrades support the Government’s Built Environment Sector Plan and national Net Zero strategy. Scape buildings will also receive insulation improvements, advanced metering and trials of “grid-interactive” technology to help shift energy use to times when renewable power is most abundant. In another milestone, the CEFC has become the first Australian institutional investor to join TLCo.’s $6 billion Scape Australia Core Fund. The fund now has more than $300 million in new equity in just six months, representing the country’s largest institutionally owned residential portfolio and aiming to grow beyond $10 billion in the next five years. TLCo. leaders say the CEFC partnership reflects growing confidence in Australia’s living-sector platforms and a shared commitment to sustainability and community impact. Scape’s executives say electrification is both a climate responsibility and a long-term advantage for students. The investment follows strong sustainability results, with TLCo.’s development funds ranked #1 globally for residential sustainability performance and Scape’s Core Program scoring second in its category. TLCo.’s portfolio is on track to reach Net Zero Carbon by 2030 through electrification, renewable energy and climate-focused design. CEFC Property Executive Director Michael Di Russo said the project sets a new benchmark for residential climate action and is the largest apartment-electrification initiative the CEFC has supported. The upgrades will deliver: Modern, all-electric student apartments Reduced emissions and lower energy bills Smarter, more efficient building performance Housing designed for a net zero future As demand for sustainable, affordable student housing grows, this nationwide electrification program positions Australia as a global leader in clean, modern student living. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .