Speaking at a gathering in Sydney to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “The Australian”, a newspaper that Rupert Murdoch owns, he told Australians they must welcome immigrants. “We must be open to immigrants, to their desire to improve themselves and to the resulting improvement in our country,” Murdoch told the crowd, of which Australia Prime Minister, Tony Abbott was a guest. “It is in... 

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s popularity has taken a nosedive in recent months with only 18 percent of voters supporting him, a new report shows. A new survey published in Crikey’s newsletter found that more Australians would prefer “someone else” than the current leader to head the ruling Liberal Party. The report found that only 18 percent of the voters are satisfied with the premier... 

Australia has announced plans to buy a fleet of giant US drones to help patrol the nation’s borders, monitoring energy infrastructure and attempts to enter the country illegally. On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Triton Unmanned Aerial Vehicles would be based in the southern city of Adelaide, AFP reported. “These aircraft will patrol Australia’s vast ocean... 

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been lauded for defending his country, after drafting a code of behaviour for the hoards of asylum seekers that threatens to deport them for ‘irritating people, disturbing someone or spitting or swearing in public’. Australia’s tough stance over asylum seekers from Indonesia has soured relations between the two countries in recent months and this document... 

An Australian soldier patrolling an area in Afghanistan. The Australian ambassador to Afghanistan says his government has offered to keep hundreds of troops in war-ravaged Afghanistan even after the 2014 deadline for the pullout of foreign forces. Jon Philp told reporters in Kabul on Wednesday that Canberra had made an offer to the Afghan government to keep between 100-400 troops in Afghanistan into... 

Australia has just gone through a lackluster election, where a change of government took place. Tony Abbott will be Australia’s next prime minister. However this change in government appeared to lack the euphoria of past elections that delivered new governments like ’72, ’75, ’83, ’96, and ’07. Many fear that an Abbott government will bring Australian public policy... 

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says if the Labor Party is reelected, he will hold a referendum on the recognition of the country’s Aborigines in the constitution. On Wednesday, during the 50th anniversary of the indigenous land rights movement, Rudd said the recognition of the Aboriginal people as Australia’s first inhabitants was a key priority. “I therefore, as prime minister, want... 

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been defeated by former Premier Kevin Rudd in a Labor Party leadership vote. Former Prime Minister Rudd won the vote of the Labor caucus 57 to 45, reports on Wednesday said. The prime minister is expected to resign on Thursday, before Rudd is sworn in. Gillard said a leadership vote for the Labor Party would be held... 

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard addresses a press conference in Canberra on March 21, 2013. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has managed to hold onto her position as the leader of the country’s Labor Party. The 51-year-old Gillard remained the party leader after a vote on Thursday, as MP Kevin Rudd failed to garner enough party support to replace her. “This is a difficult day... 

A heat wave that has already caused devastating fires on the Island state of Tasmania, with 100 people still missing, has now moved to mainland Australia and is reaping havoc in New South Wales, as the heat wave looks to smash records. ­In some areas temperatures have shot up by as much as 20C in three hours and combined with 50 mph winds have created disastrous fire conditions. Right across Australia... 

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come under heavy pressure from Jewish and pro-Israeli groups after announcing that Canberra would abstain from a vote for the upgrading of the status of Palestine at the UN. Australia’s Jewish groups have demanded a meeting with the premier to express their anger over her decision and to urge her to vote against the bid which would upgrade Palestine’s... 

Rescuers at the scene of a refugee boat accident near Australia’s Christmas Island. A boat carrying 130 asylum-seekers has capsized near Australia’s Christmas Island in a second such incident this week. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority announced earlier that two merchant vessels had been dispatched to the scene on a rescue operation. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said at least... 

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hit out at a High Court decision that ruled an asylum deal with Malaysia was unlawful. Ms Gillard called the ruling “deeply disappointing” and said the court had “rewritten the Migration Act”. Under the deal, Australia would have sent 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia and would have received 4,000 refugees in return over four years. But... 

KEVIN Rudd has deplored Israel's use of violence in interdicting the Gaza flotilla and called on Jerusalem to lift its blockade. Barely a week after it announced the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat following the misuse of Australian passports, the Rudd government was yesterday again at odds with Israel. The renewed tension came after it emerged that Israeli commandos had shot one Australian...