Despite essentially cutting off all international travel in an attempt to “raise the drawbridge” and keep out COVID-19 after mostly purging it from their society, Australia is entering its fourth COVID-inspired lockdown in Melbourne, the country’s second-largest city. The lockdown began Thursday and was set to remain in place for a week for Melbourne and the rest of Victoria state after a new... 

The Australian government is pondering a new plan for disposal of waste from expanding the country’s port of Abbot Point, which would see the dredged mud and sand reused on land instead of being dumped by the Great Barrier Reef, as was initially planned. The on-land disposal project has been approved by the Queensland government. The decision was made despite the fact that federal authorities have...