What we learned, 22 August 2025
With that, we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are today’s big stories:
A woman in her 30s has been charged by Western Australia police with concealing the birth of a baby boy, whose body was found inside a storm water drain.
Peter Dutton was hailed as a “great son” of the Liberal National party after making a surprise appearance at its annual convention.
Ultra Violette has announced it will immediately withdraw its Lean Screen Skinscreen product from the market after additional testing found a “pattern of inconsistency” in its SPF results.
The education minister, Jason Clare, has detailed a range of measures to make children safe in childcare, including a trial of CCTV and a ban on mobile phones.
A postal worker has been charged after allegedly stealing bank cards from the mail in well-heeled suburbs before handing them off to criminal syndicates in a scheme worth nearly $1.5m.
Queensland Liberal National party members will debate banning gender-affirming care for children and repealing a ban on conversion practices at its conference this weekend.
Debris balls have again washed up along the New South Wales coast as officials warn residents not to touch the mysterious spherical globules and to avoid beaches where they appear.
Thanks so much for your company today.
Updated
Cocaine discovered in shipment of flour at Port Botany, federal police say
The Australian federal police are calling for help to identify the group that allegedly imported 54kg of cocaine found in a shipping container of flour at Port Botany.
The AFP says the drugs were shipped from South America via China and discovered after x-rays identified “internal anomalies during a routine inspection”.
AFP detective superintendent Peter Fogarty said the drugs had a potential street value of $17.5m:
The AFP is committed to targeting, identifying and disrupting criminal syndicates which attempt to import harmful illicit substances into our country.
We are pleased we were able to prevent these drugs from reaching our communities
We will be relentless in pursuing the syndicate responsible for this importation. We are watching, we are ready, and we will bring you to justice.
Updated
