Environment Animals Wildlife Endangered Species Koala nicknamed'teddy bear' receives first chlamydia vaccine implant The implant delivers the vaccine's second dose without having to recapture the koala. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Bamse the koala returns to the wild after receiving the first chlamydia vaccine implant. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

Federal departments and agencies still use automated decision-making in some service delivery functions, prompting fears AI systems could replace more human-led processes. Federal departments and agencies still use automated decision-making in some service delivery functions, prompting fears AI systems could replace more human-led processes. The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy. As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to ensure safety is built into AI processes inside government, prioritising fairness, accuracy and transparency. Federal departments and agencies continue to rely on automated decision-making in some service delivery functions, prompting fears increasingly sophisticated AI systems could replace more human-led processes.

Follow this section to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Follow this tag to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Australia's new social media law took effect on Dec. 10, 2025, raising the age to open or maintain social media accounts to 16.

Australia'deeply frustrated' over Laos methanol poisoning charges The Australian government has said it is deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed that Laos is not pursuing more serious charges in relation to the deaths of six backpackers who died after drinking methanol-laced alcohol in 2024. Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were among six people who died at a hostel in Vang Vieng in November 2024. The statement comes after reports in Australian media that Laos would press charges that collectively carry penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of A$1600 ($1100; £829) against those allegedly responsible. Australian Foreign Ministry Penny Wong said they have summoned Laos' ambassador to Canberra. Laos has yet to confirm any charges but the BBC understands authorities there will hold a press conference later on Friday.

Check your subscription status, update your details and more. The controversial idea that consciousness has a quantum origin is facing a new challenge, after a mathematical analysis appears to show that a long-known law of physics makes it impossible. What physical process makes us conscious, and whether we could observe and analyse it, is one of the great open questions of modern science. In the 1990s, mathematician Roger Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff proposed that classical physics can't explain consciousness alone and so it must arise in the quantum realm. The idea was received with scepticism and remains controversial, but attempts to bring quantumness into explanations of consciousness have persisted since.

Anthony Albanese is set to announce the creation of a new office of AI within his department. Anthony Albanese is set to announce the creation of a new office of AI within his department. Anthony Albanese says the federal government will introduce faster approval processes for AI projects, including datacentres, across Australia, seeking to shore up investor certainty and maintain community confidence in the rapidly advancing technology . Announcing the creation of a new office of AI to be established within his department in a major speech on Wednesday, the prime minister will declare Australia is set to become the first country in the world to bring the economic, social, national security and environmental issues stemming from AI into a single, national framework. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email "Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance," Albanese will tell an event .

Labor MP says'a fair day's pay for a fair day's work' was a founding principle of the ALP as media union calls for tougher new rules on AI use of creative work Husic also urged his colleagues to place stricter rules on the big tech firms or be "doomed to failure". Husic, who has long advocated for a more interventionist approach on AI policy, said big firms like OpenAI and Anthropic should not be left to self-regulate, and that the federal government should be setting strong rules. "If we were to wait for social licence with industry, we wouldn't get emissions reduction. Governments sometimes have to step in," Husic told Sky News on Tuesday. Going down the path of social licence with tech is a path that's sadly doomed to failure, because we tried self-regulation for a couple of decades and found out that it didn't work." The prime minister will deliver a highly anticipated speech in Sydney on Wednesday to address growing concerns around social licence and the necessary policy guardrails for AI, datacentres and Australian intellectual property. We've grown up with the notion of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work - that people should be remunerated fairly for the labour, the effort that they provide. Asked whether he thought his colleagues were doing that, Husic replied: "Obviously, there's a debate that's going on behind the scenes.

The actor, who died at age 78 on Monday, embodied a passionate approach to research and positive masculinity in his role as paleontologist Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster . Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor who died at age 78 in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, had a long and varied résumé. He played everyone from an international spy () and a detective chief inspector () to a legendary wizard (). He even played the literal spawn of the devil (). But throughout his career, Neill was also known for scientist roles in films like and, with none more celebrated than Dr. Alan Grant, the rugged paleontologist and undisputed hero of .

When Anna Funder stood before a pack of journalists at Parliament House this month, she presented herself not just as a writer but also a "victim of crime". The Stasiland author was using the analogy to illustrate how technology companies have flagrantly "hoovered up" her literary works for their own profit. Authors, artists, musicians and media organisations were last year assured those laws wouldn't be watered down when the federal government ruled out granting a legal exemption for artificial intelligence companies to mine content to train their large language models, which include ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. But continual lobbying from tech giants and a whistleblower's tipoff to the independent senator David Pocock have ignited fears that the Albanese government might go back on its word - even as it continues to insist that it won't. The stoush has exposed splits within Labor about how to respond to AI and raised questions about how far the government should bend - if at all - to big tech to capture the supposed riches of the datacentre boom.

Software programmers, accountants, receptionists and advertising and marketing professionals are among the most at risk of losing their jobs to AI, according to a government report. Software programmers, accountants, receptionists and advertising and marketing professionals are among the most at risk of losing their jobs to AI, according to a government report. Artificial intelligence has yet to cause widespread job losses but the federal government has warned that telemarketers, advertising staff and accountants are among the occupations "most exposed" to being replaced by the technology. According to a first-of-its-kind national report, people in the more exposed occupations are more likely to be women and have university qualifications. They include clerks, retail managers, software programmers, accountants, receptionists and advertising and marketing professionals, according to data from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) contained in the AI and Employment in Australia report. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Jobs deemed as the "least exposed" to AI displacement are filled by those with the lowest level of university qualifications and the highest level of vocational training, including tradespeople and aged care workers.